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J. S. LAMAR, 



FIRST PRINCIPLES 



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PERFECTION 



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THE BIRTH AND GROWTH OF 
A CHRISTIAN 



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J. S. LAMAR 






CINCINNATI 

THE STANDAED PUBLISHING COMPANY 

1891 



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Entered according to Act of Congress, in the year 1891, by 

The Standabd Publishing Company, 
in the Office of the Librarian of Congress at Washington. 




PEEFACE. 

THE following work was originall j published 
serially in the ''Christian Standard," of Cin- 
cinnati — a religious paper of wide circulation 
and great influence. In response to numerous 
calls made by the readers of that journal, it is 
now submitted to the public in this more per- 
manent form. 

It should be stated that, while the author is 
identified with the people known as Disciples of 
Christ, or Christians, and is heart and soul in 
sympathy with them, he alone is responsible for 
what is herein contained. The work is in no 
sense an authoritative exposition of their belief. 
Still, the fact that so many eminent and earnest 
men among them have given it unqualified and 
warm expressions of approval, will show to the 
general public that the production, if not an 
adequate, is at least, as far as it goes, a correct 
representation of their position and doctrine. In 
perusing it, therefore, the reader may feel assured 
that he is obtaining trustworthy information 

3 



4 PREFACE. 

respecting a people who are coming so rapidly to 
the front ; and he may find in the doctrine herein 
taught the real cause of their unexampled growth 
and widespread influence. 

Grovetown, Ga., 
October, 1891. 



*-^^-^ | CONTENTS 

FIRST PRINCIPLES. 

CHAPTER. PAGE. 

I. Introductory, 7 

II. Authority, 14 

III. The Starting Place 21 

IV. The Gospel, 28 

v. Power from on High, 36 

VI. Bearing Witness, 45 

VII. The Acceptance, 64 

VIII. The Gospel Believed, 64 

IX. Conviction of Sin, 74 

X. Repentance, 84 

XI. The Confession of Faith, . . . . .93 

XII. Baptism, 102 

XIII. The Place of Baptism, 113 

XIV. Results of Baptism, 124 

XV. The Whole Subject Exemplified, . . .136 

XVI. Practical Teaching, . . . . . .148 



GOING ON TO PERFECTION. 

I. Newness of Life, 161 

II. The Goal, 170 

III. The Law Within 178 

IV. Letter and Spirit 185 

V. The Higher Law .193 

VI. Seeing the Invisible, 202 



6 CONTENTS. 

CHAPTER. PA6I. 

VII. Night Songs 211 

VIII. The Every-day Life, 219 

IX. Spiritual Declension, 227 

X. A Reckoning, 235 

XI. Sanctification, ....... 243 

XII. Sanctification Progressive, 251 

XIII. Peace 259 

XIV. Drawing Near, .,» .... 267 
XV. Behold the Perfect Man 276 



FIRST PRINCIPLES. 



CHAPTER I. 

INTKODUCTOEY. 



I DESIRE to submit to the readers of the 
" Christian Standard " a series of articles on 
the "Principles of the Doctrine of Christ." 
This language, quoted from Hebrews vi. 1, may 
be more literally rendered "the word of the 
beginning of Christ," as in the margin of the 
Revised Version ; but the meaning of the two 
renderings is substantially the same. The word 
of the beginning is in fact the first principle of 
the gospel, as originally proclaimed. 

The immediate context of the passage above 
cited suggests that these principles are Junda- 
mental; that it was upon them as a foundation 
that Christianity was built up; or that it was 
out of them as seed truths that it was developed. 



8 FIRST PRINCIPLES. 

Consequently, it is only by studying and under- 
standing them that we can hope to reach a clear 
and full comprehension of the Christian reli- 
gion, as it was in the beginning, is now, and ever 
shall be. 

It should be noticed that the specification of 
principles given in the same context ("repent- 
ance from dead works,'^ and " faith towards 
God,'^ with some others) is not exhaustive of 
the subject, but illustrative of the writer's mean- 
ing. The items mentioned were quite sufficient 
for his purpose, serving as they did to exemplify 
the kind of things which he would have his 
readers " leave,'' that they might " go on to per- 
fection.'* But it is scarcely necessary to say, 
especially to any one who is not " unskillful in 
the word of righteousness," that some extremely 
important principles (such, for instance, as faith 
in Christ) are not included in this list, although 
to a well instructed Christian they may be im- 
plied. I shall therefore feel justified in studying 
this great subject in its historical presentation 
and development, ^\t\io\x.t confining myself to the 
allusions and specifications given in the above 
cited Scripture. 



INTRODUCTORY. » 

It shall be my object to conduct the investi- 
gation with all needful care and pains; and 
while I hope not to be tedious, I shall occupy as 
much time and space as may be necessary to 
give a perspicuous and orderly presentation of 
the whole subject. 

On many accounts it is deemed important, 
not only by myself, but by others in whose wis- 
dom I confide, that this work should be under- 
taken. The Christian Churches, or the people 
known as Disciples of Christ, who maintain and 
propagate the principles which I am herein to 
present and discuss, have established a character 
which naturally excites inquiry. They have not 
only exhibited an unswerving Christian and 
Biblical conservatism, but they have demon- 
strated, by almost uniform, certainly by very 
remarkable success, that they possess elements 
of influence and power which can not be ignored 
by religious society, and which are beginning to 
command respectful attention and consideration 
from the leaders of religious thought. What I 
have to say, therefore, may be regarded as to 
some extent responsive to this state of mind 
and feeling. 



10 FIRST PRINCIPLES. 

I also have in view that large class of serious 
and reflective persons, not members of any 
church, but who feel their responsibilities, who 
appreciate, at least in a general way, the impor- 
tance and value of the Christian religion, and 
who, while caring nothing for the peculiar doc- 
trines and conflicting claims of different sects, 
would still love to know and to receive the 
essential truth. They may be in perplexity and 
mental difficulty. The jars, discords and rival- 
ries among the churches may even have gener- 
ated sober and honest doubts. May it not all 
be a delusion? Is there any sure and certain 
right way? If so, can it be found? And can 
it be known when it is found? To such per- 
sons the first principles of the gospel, clearly 
set forth, and sufficiently supported by holy 
Scripture, will be almost like a new revelation 
from heaven, resolving their doubts, relieving 
their perplexities, banishing their darkness, and 
exhibiting in light and beauty the whole way 
of life and salvation. 

Among the Disciples themselves, also, there 
are weighty reasons wliy those principles 
should be given a prominent and conspicuous 



INTRODUCTORY. H 

place; and why they should be viewed from 
different angles, and exhibited in different lights. 
It is true that none of us can be said to be 
wholly ignorant of them. They have been dis- 
cussed and advocated over and over again ; in 
some instances with indiscretion and ad nau- 
seam; but in general, with thoughtful care and 
considerate adaptation. They have been viewed 
by minds of singular clearness and penetration, 
and supported with pen and tongue by men of 
great learning and strength. I can not hope to 
surpass or even equal the able writers who have 
preceded me in this field. They have reaped 
the harvest; I come, like Ruth the Moabitess, 
to glean after them. Still, however wisely and 
skillfully they wrought, the special value of 
their work grew out of its adaptation to the 
times and circumstances which called for it. 
Now the times have changed. A new genera- 
tion has come forward. Peculiar conditions and 
circumstances have arisen. In some respects 
the tone, spirit and attitude of the churches 
have been modified. "Works which were for- 
merly read with delight, and appreciated by 
every one at their true intrinsic value, are now 



12 FIRST PRINCIPLES: 

seldom read at all, especially by the young, and 
when read seem to have lost something of the 
flavor and freshness originally possessed by 
them. In this rapid age it takes but a few 
years for such productions to go out of date. 
And therefore, if what I may say shall have no 
greater value, it must at least, and for a time, 
have the value of recency. 

It may be proper to add that, if spared to 
prosecute this undertaking, I expect to do so in 
my own way. I shall not seek after novelty, 
nor to avoid the paths which great and good 
men have trodden before me; and no doubt 1 
shall generally, if not always, find myself in 
their company; but I shall not slavishly fol- 
low them. The nature of the subject, and the 
importance of the circumstances which call for 
its present discussion, demand that it shall be 
studied and treated de novo. 

Finally, I can not forget that the spirit of 
Christian unity is becoming daily more and 
more potential in religious society. Even the 
ministers of the different churches — who have 
hitherto exerted a repressive influence upon this 
spirit — are beginning to feel its force, and to 



INTRODUCTORY, 13 

anticipate the joy of its full development. And 
now that some of them, nay, that many of them, 
are coming toward us, as it were, with flags of 
truce, and words of love, rather than as of old 
with clubs and taunts, it would ill become me 
to meet them with blows and reproaches. If 
it was ever proper and necessary to present and 
advocate the principles of the gospel in the 
spirit and with the bearing of controversy and 
belligerency, it is not so now. It is not a time 
of war, but of peace ; a time in which we may 
hope to " sit down together at the feet of our 
common Master, to hear his word, to imbibe 
his spirit, and to transcribe his life in our own." 
We believe that the great fundamental prin- 
ciples for which we have so earnestly contended, 
and which have given us so much satisfaction 
and strength, are catholic in their nature; that 
by a divine adaptation they are fitted to and 
needed by every creature in all the world ; and 
that it requires only a dispassionate considera- 
tion of them, free from bias and prejudice, for 
all to see that they are indeed what we believe 
them to be, " the truth as it is in Jesus." 



CHAPTER 11. 

AUTHORITY. 

In approaching the investigation upon which 
we are about to enter, it is necessary first of 
all to consider the question of authority ; for 
we can but acknowledge and feel that the sub- 
ject itself is one which, from its very nature, is 
beyond the range of our own unaided thinking. 
We must have instruction and guidance. No 
philosophy, however profound and far-reaching, 
could ever lead us to the principles of the gos- 
pel of Christ. They belong to a different and 
higher sphere, beyond the boundaries of the 
realms both of consciousness and of observa- 
tion. It is true that they come at length to 
be brought within the domain of consciousness, 
generating their delightful experiences, and 
leading the mind to intelligent and fruitful 
observation. But they must be brought there. 
Primarily, we can not go to them ; they must 
come to us. Left to themselves, our loftiest 
powers are wholly unable to solve hnmanity's 
most solemn problem. As already intimated, 

14 



AUTHORITY. 15 

no system of philosophy ever did or ever could 
make known to a human being what he must 
do to be saved. On this subject we are depend- 
ent, absolutely and entirely, upon revelation. 

Furthermore, as we did not and could not 
originate the principles of life and salvation ; 
as they did not arise in us, and do not primarily 
belong to us, we have neither the right nor the 
competency to modify or change them. On the 
contrary, believing as we do that they were 
given to us from above, and given by Him who 
is the source of all light and truth, of all 
knowledge and wisdom, as He is of all saving 
grace and power, there is nothing that we can 
legitimately do but honestly study, gratefully 
embrace and faithfully observe them. 

In this investigation we assume that the Bible 
is the desiderated authority. We assume it be- 
cause those whom we shall address will not call 
it in question. If we were seeking to influence 
avowed infidels and skeptics, it would be neces- 
sary, first of all, to argue the point which we 
now take for granted, and give our reasons for 
believing that the Bible is the word of God, and 
its authority absolute and final. But, happily 



16 FIRST principles: 

for our purpose, this preliminary work is not 
here necessary. We occupy ground which is 
common to all whom we shall especially address 
— the divine inspiration and authority of Holy 
Scripture. 

It may be necessary, however, in order to 
relieve the subject of possible complications, 
to pause for a little while upon the meaning of 
inspiration; for while all reverent piety admits 
the fact of inspiration, and rejoices in it, there 
is room for wide divergence of opinion as to 
what the fact implies; and it is still an open 
question, In what sense is the Bible inspired? 

Without pausing to notice the growth of the 
doctrine of inspiration as exhibited in the writ- 
ings of Jewish theologians, church fathers, the 
schoolmen of the middle ages, and the theo- 
logians of the Reformation period, it will suffice 
to consider that at present all the nice distinc- 
tions and finely drawn discriminations of the 
past are generally disregarded, and the whole 
matter seems to be resolving itself into an issue 
between two theories : 

1. That the very words of Scripture, just as 
they were originally penned, were dictated by 



AUTHOEITT. 17 

tbe Holy Spirit — ^the writers being his passive 
instruments. 

2. That the writers themselves were inspired 
with the knowledge of the truth, and were moved 
by the Holy Spirit to give expression to that 
knowledge, but in their own language; he, 
however, superintending the work, and preserv- 
ing them from error ; and that where the truth 
was of such character that it could be acquired 
by ordinary means, without the necessity of 
immediate revelation from heaven, this superin- 
tendence of the Holy Spirit sufficed. 

It should be added that there are persons (of 
them the writer is one) who believe that neither 
of the above theories will hold good in its appli- 
cation to every part of the Bible ; and that it 
requires both to cover the whole of the sacred 
volume. 

The twentieth chapter of Exodus will serve 
to illustrate my meaning in very few words. 
Here, if we credit the record, we are obliged to 
believe that " God spake all these words *' ; that 
he actually enunciated and dictated the identical 
words which follow, namely, the ten command- 
ments — that is, from the first to the seventeenth 



IS FIRST PRINCIPLES. 

verse inclusive. But now, when we reach verse 
18, we can but recognize that we are on a differ- 
ent plane. It reads: "And all the people saw 
the thunderings, and the lightnings, and the 
noise of the trumpet, and the mountain smok- 
ing : and when the people saw it, they removed 
and stood afar off.'' Certainly this is a faithful 
record of what took place. It is the truth ; but 
the knowledge of this truth was derived from 
observation rather than revelation. Moses saw 
what was done, and, moved by the Holy Spirit, 
he was led to put it upon record ; and if, under 
the superintendence of thut Spirit, he was pre- 
served from mistake or error, we have the exact 
truth of the case, although the words may have 
been his own. 

And so throughout the whole Book : when 
we read it with discrimination and reflection, we 
see that in parts it records what God immedi- 
ately revealed, and what he said ; in other parts, 
what holy men spake as they were moved by 
the Holy Spirit; in others still, mere historical 
information, giving incidents and narratives — 
telling what was said and done by good men 
and bad, by angels and demons ; but the entire 



AUTHORITY, 19 

record " inspired " — that is to say, the Holy 
Spirit, by his superintending influence, directed 
and controlled the writers as to what should be 
recorded and what should not ; and so strength- 
ened their memories and guided their hands as 
to preserve them from error in making the 
record. 

But it matters not what particular theory of 
inspiration we may favor — what special phase 
of the doctrine we may regard as best accordant 
with the facts — if we do but hold fast to the 
conviction that the Bible is not an accident, 
nor yet the product of mere human genius, but 
that in some high and altogether peculiar sense 
it is the work of God, containing his word, 
revealing his will, and teaching his truth ; and 
that the Holy Spirit who, in some way, presided 
over its composition, pervades it still, and im- 
parts himself through it. 

We should read and study it, therefore, in the 
spirit of profound reverence, believing that when 
we have reached its true sense and meaning, we 
have acquired the very truth of God, from 
which there can be no appeal. Nor should we 
forget that however controlling and conclusive 



20 FIRST PRINCIPLES. 

its authority, and however high and sacred ite 
revelations, it is all written in human lan- 
guage — retaining the current sense of the words 
which it uses, and combining them into propo- 
sitions and sentences, according to the rules and 
laws governing human compositions. This fact 
suggests the sure and safe way to its proper 
understanding and interpretation. We are to 
observe in our investigation of its meaning 
the same rules and laws which were observed 
in its composition. 



CHAPEER III. 

THE STARTING PLACE. 

It is important to bear in mind that the true 
historical beginning of Christianity, considered 
as an institution, is not found in the first chap- 
ters of the four Gospels, but in the last. This 
institution or church was founded and widely 
spread over the earth before any of these Gos- 
pels had been written; and it was founded by 
the application of those very principles which 
are the subject of our present investigation. It 
is true that the wonderful facts which came 
subsequently to be recorded by the evangelists 
were well known by the apostles. The Christ 
had come into the world — God's only begotten 
Son — and had lived and taught among men. 
His chosen disciples had listened to his instruc- 
tions, had witnessed his miraculous works, had 
been near to him in his sufferings and death, 
and had seen him again and again after his 
resurrection. On one of these occasions — the 
last one, at the close of his earthly work and 
mission, and lust before he went back to live 

' -^ 21 



22 FIRST PRINCIPLES. 

forever with his Father in Heaven — he gave 
commandment to his apostles, and sent them 
forth into the world. He commissioned them 
as bis embassadors, giving them special instruc- 
tions as to what they were to teach and what 
they were to do in his name; and it was the 
execution of this mission which resulted subse- 
quently in the establishment of the church and 
the propagation of the Christian religion. This, 
then, was the starting place. It was the initia- 
tion of the great movement which has so 
wonderfully and powerfully affected the world; 
and we may expect, consequently, to find in this 
commission, either explicitly or implicitly, all 
the essential elements and '^ first principles" of 
the doctrine of Christ. It shall be my object, 
therefore, to study it, first in its terms — to weigh 
and consider with all possible care the language 
of the document itself; to see what it means — 
what the Saviour meant by it ; and then, sec- 
ondly, to go with the inspired apostles out into 
the world, as they were engaged in the execu- 
tion of it, in order to see how they understood 
it. I can not doubt that, if we engage in this 
task in the proper spirit, free from all bias and 



THE STARTING PLACE. 23 

prejudice, and in humble dependence upon God, 
we shall be guided into the certain knowledge of 
those great principles which constitute the very 
essence and stability of the Christian religion. 

We have in the Synoptic Gospels three sepa- 
rate versions of the commission. The reasons 
for this we need not pause here to consider; 
suffice it is to say that they are mutually supple- 
mentary to each other, and we may understand 
that together they give us all the elements of 
that most important and fruitful deliverance. 
I will quote them here, once for all, as they 
stand in the Revised Version. 

1. " And Jesus came to them and spake unto 
them, saying. All authority hath been given 
unto me in heaven and on earth. Go ye there- 
fore, and make disciples of all the nations, 
baptizing them into the name of the Father, 
and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost : teach- 
ing them to observe all things whatsoever I 
commanded you : and lo, I am with you alway, 
even unto the end of the world." (Matt, xxviii. 
18-20.) 

2. "And he said unto them, Go ye into all 
the world, and preach the gospel to the whole 



24 FIRST PRINCIPLES. 

creation. He that believeth and is baptized 
shall be saved; but he that disbelieveth shall 
be condemned." (Mark xvi. 15, 16.) 

3. "Then opened he their mind, that they 
might understand the Scriptures; and he said 
unto them, Thus it is Tvritten, that the Christ 
should suffer, and rise again from the dead 
the third day; and that repentance and remis- 
sion of sins should be preached in his name 
unto all the nations, beginning from Jerusalem. 
Ye are witnesses of these things. And behold, 
I send forth the promise of my Father upon 
you : but tarry ye in the city, until ye be clothed 
with power from on high.'' (Luke xxiv. 45-49.) 

We can not doubt that our Lord imparted 
to the apostles, on the occasion to which I have 
alluded, all the terms of this commission, i. e., 
everything mentioned in Matthew, in ]\Iark, and 
in Luke; but the Holy Spirit, perhaps in order 
to induce us to study and compare these sacred 
records, has caused them to be written in part 
by one evangelist and in part by the others. 

A brief and, for the present, quite superficial 
comparison of these versions will serve to show 
that, from Matthew's alone, we should not know 



THE STARTING PLACE. 25 

how disciples were to be made; and while it 
reveals the obligation imposed upon the apostles 
to administer baptism, it does not disclose the 
motive which would induce men to submit to or 
desire baptism. From Mark's version alone we 
should have no baptismal formula; nor should 
we know that the baptized would sustain the 
personal relation of disciples to the Lord; and 
from neither of these versions should we learn 
that repentance was to be preached. From 
Luke's version we learn nothing about belief , 
or the consequence of disbelief; nothing about 
baptism; nothing about discipleship ; but we do 
learn that the word " saved/' as used in Mark, 
has the special signification of "remission of 
sins," and that this is closely connected with 
repentance. "We also learn that the apostles 
were to be witnesses of the facts of the gospel ; 
that they were to begin in Jerusalem, but not 
until after they should be clothed with power 
from on high. 

If now we merge the three versions into one, 
and arrange their several items in what seems 
to be the natural order of their presentation, we 
shall have the following tabulation : 



26 FIRST PRINCIPLES. 

1. The apostles were to tarry in Jerusalem 
until they should be clothed with power from 
on high. 

2. They were (first in Jerusalem and after- 
wards in all the world) to " preach the gospel," 
involving the Christhood, the sufferings and 
resurrection of the Lord Jesus. 

3. They were to bear personal "witness" to 
the facts of the gospel, and to confirm their 
testimony by the written word — their minds 
having been opened to understand the Script- 
ures. 

4. They were to expect that the gospel thus 
preached and witnessed would, in many cases, 
result in ^' belief," in others in " disbelief," to 
be followed by "condemnation." 

6. Those who believed would, as the natural 
consequence, though it is not here stated in 
terms, become distressed on account uf their 
personal sins. 

6. Such persons were to be told in the first 
place to "repent," and in the second, to be 
^' baptized" in the name of Christ, and ^' into the 
name of the Father, the Son and the Holy 
Spirit." 



THE STARTING PLACE. 27 

7. Upon compliance, they were to be assured 
of the "remission of sins/^ or that they were 
" saved '^ from their sins. 

8. As the result of all this, they would be 
recognized as "disciples" of Christ, and, as his 
disciples, they were to be "taught" to observe 
" all things that he had commanded." 

9. In the execution of this commission the 
apostles were assured that their Lord would 
always "be with them," even "unto the end 
of the world." 

From this brief summary of the commission, 
it is evident that some things in it must, of 
necessity, be confined exclusively to the apostles 
— such as their personal testimony to the facts 
of the gospel, and their miraculous endowment 
from on high; both of which, however, were for 
the sake of establishing those great and funda- 
mental principles of the gospel — also contained 
in the commission — which are of universal and 
unchanging obligation. These we shall next take 
up seriatim. And surely if Christianity was de- 
veloped out of them, and if it is still maintained 
and perpetuated by them, they must he worthy 
of our most thoughtful and serious consideration. 



CHAPTER IV. 

THE GOSPEL. 

The word gospel, as used in the New Testa- 
ment, is to my mind one of the strongest inci- 
dental proofs of the supernatural origin and 
divine inspiration of that sacred volume. It is 
indeed a significant fact that no philosopher, even 
the most eminent, was ever led to call his system 
a gospel, much less the gospel ; and obviously for 
the reason that it was not a gospel. However 
wide the range and application of the term 
philosophy, as used by us — whether we consider 
it as the product of observation or of specula- 
tion — it is in any case but a result of human 
thought. It originates with man. But the 
word gospel, as it comes from the lips of Christ 
and the evangelists, points directly to an origin 
outside of man, and remote from him. It i? 
good news — glad tidings — joyful intelligence; 
and, like all intelligence or news, therefore, it is 
brought in from without — from afar ! It comes 
from a region which to mere philosophy is for- 
eign and unknown — a region in which primarily 

28 



THE GOSPEL, 29 

it neither moves nor can move. But in the New 

Testament, and in the New Testament alone, the 
word in this high sense is of repeated occurrence. 
It seems to arise spontaneously, and to be used 
as a matter-of-course ; to be used as the natural 
and only proper word to express the stupendous 
fact that Heaven was speaking to Earth, and 
speaking in terms of love and salvation. And 
it will doubtless occur to the reader that both 
the nature and origin of this gospel are beauti- 
fully indicated by the proclamation of the angel 
to the shepherds: ^'Behold, I bring you good 
tidings of great joy/' I bring you! I bring 
you from above ! My message is good news from 
Heaven ! 

Later on, when the Babe in the manger had 
become a man, and had entered upon his minis- 
try, he speaks of " the gospel of the kingdom," 
the good news that " the kingdom of heaven is 
at hand." And still later, when he had wrought 
redemption for the human race, and had tri- 
umphed over death and the grave ; when he 
had been made perfect through sufferings, and 
become man's only but all-sufficient Saviour 
— this constituted the good news ; and hence it 



30 FIRST PRINCIPLES. 

was called "the gospel of Christ" — the glad 
tidings concerDing Him who was sent by the 
Father to be the Saviuur of the world ; of Him 
who Game from heaven to seek and to save that 
which was lost. And it was these wonderful 
and wholly exceptional characteristics of his his- 
tory — what lie was, whence he came, what he 
said, what he did, what he achieved — that con- 
stituted ihe elements of " news " in the apostolic 
proclamation. He therefore bases the command- 
ment to preach the gospel upon these historical 
facts; that he was the Christ, as shown by the 
perfect correspondence of his life and work with 
the written word ; that, still in accordance with 
this word, he had suffered, and risen again from 
the dead ; that all authority in heaven and on 
earth had been given to him, and, consequently, 
that in his " name '^ (now above every name) 
men might procure the "remission of sins." 
These fundamental facts, with all that they 
involved — God's infinite mercy and gracious 
disposition — were to be universally heralded, 
proclaimed, preached ; and by such preaching — 
foolish and impotent as it might seem to be in 
the eyes of philosophy — it pleased him to save 



THE GOSPEL. ^1 

them that believe. And this preaching itself— 
the preaching of the cross — at once expressed 
and imparted, displayed and conveyed the wis- 
dom of God and the power of God. In no 
sense therefore was it "after men," or accord- 
ing to man's wisdom. And I doubt if we have 
been a' tie even yet to appreciate how much this 
" foolishness of God is wiser than men." 

I presume that very few, if any, of us have 
fully succeeded in overcoming wiiat seems to be 
a sort of natural proneness to attach undue im- 
portance, in matters of religion, to the merely 
outward; to forms and ceremonies; to the spec- 
tacular — something that may be seen — something 
that is presented, or, at any rate, presentable, to 
the eye! But God's wisdom is manifested in 
this : that in order to save the soul, he addresses 
the ear ! 

I am happy to believe that the more thought- 
ful and considerate among the people of God 
are coming to a better appreciation and realiza- 
tion of the fact that raen can not be saved., that 
is to say, can not be brought baek into com- 
munion with Him who is essential Spirit, other- 
wise than by the preaching of the gospel. 



32 FIRST PRINCIPLES. 

In the realm of mere material things it may 
be true, as Addison says, that " our sight is the 
most perfect and most delightful of all our 
senses ;" that it " may be considered as a more 
delicate and diffusive kind of touch, that spreads 
itself over an infinite multitude of bodies, com- 
prehends the largest figures, and brings into our 
reach some of the most remote parts of the 
universe." But with all this, the eye, it will be 
noticed, is still limited to "bodies," to "fig- 
ures," to the shape and size and colors of things, 
and, in fact, to the outside only of even these. 
But the living voice comes from within, and it 
bears along with itself a portion of that internal 
spirit out of which it is born ; and it bears it 
through " the hearing of faith," into the very 
innermost spirit of him who hears. I do not 
forget that the voice may be recorded by the use 
of conventional symbols which are made to 
represent words, and which, by a figure of 
speech, we have come to call words. In fact, 
however, they are but suggestive signs of the 
real words. Still, we are so familiar with what 
they signify, we connect them so instantaneously 
in our thought with the signs for which they 



THE GOSPEL. 33 

stand, that we can look upon them with our 
eyes, and drink in their meaning. The mind 
seems to hear^ while the eye beholds. For this 
reason the written or printed document, perused 
in the quiet and stillness of the closet, may have 
great value, and may exert salutary influence ; 
but for the highest effect, for the best results, 
for the attainment of the great end contemplated 
by the Saviour, all experience and observation 
have shown that nothing is equal and nothing 
is comparable to the actual and literal preach- 
ing of the gospel. With deepest and most con- 
summate wisdom, therefore, the Lord ordained 
that, as the very first principle of salvation, as 
the initiation of the whole process, the gospel 
should be preached. And with all our Bible 
Societies and printing presses we shall never 
be able to dispense with this part of the com- 
mission. There is no possible substitute for it. 
Whatever else we may do or leave undone, 
whatever changes may take place in our 
condition or circumstances, and whatever modi- 
fications or developments may be made in our 
conceptions of ecclesiastical and doctrinal sub- 
jects, it must still remain true, that, while we 



34 FIRST PRINCIPLES, 

recognize the authority of Christ, and bow to 
him as our King and Lord, it will be solemnly 
incumbent upon us, either in person or by 
representatives, to " go into all the world, and 
preach the gospel to the whole creation." 

If I have in any proper measure succeeded 
in accomplishing what I designed, I have 
made, I trust, the following points sufficiently 
clear : 

1. The word gospel, in the high sense in 
which it is therein employed, is distinctly a 
New Testament word. 

2. The introduction and use of this word, and 
especially the way in which it is used, give to it 
an evidential value of great importance. 

3. The gospel which is to be preached em- 
braces the historical facts in the life of Christ, 
and whatever these involve. 

4. The wisdom of God was peculiarly mani- 
fested in making the preaching of the gospel the 
first principle of salvation — in addressing the 
ear rather than the eye. 

5. The obligation to preach the gospel is per- 
petual and universal — and there is nothing 
which can be substituted for it. 



THE GOSPEL. 35 

I have only to add, in concluding the present 
part of my subject, that the divine wisdom is 
yet further shown in ordaining, not only that 
the gospel shall be preached to men, but by men. 
Angels, though superior in power and intelli- 
gence, are not fitted for this ministry, chiefly 
because they are not within the boundaries of 
our natural sympathies and fellowships. Not- 
withstanding his imperfections, therefore, nay, 
perchance in consequence of these imperfections, 
man can better and more effectually reach his 
fellow-man, and pour into his heart the strength, 
the comfort and the grace which have proved 
efficacious in overcoming his own weakness, his 
own sorrows, and his own sins. 



CHAPTER V. 

POWER FROM ON HIGH. 

The commission contemplated the perform- 
ance of a work which was evidently too great 
for the unaided human capacity. Notwithstand- 
ing the apostles had been trained and educated 
in the school of Christ; notwithstanding they 
were perfectly familiar with the facts which they 
were to proclaim, and the conditions of salvation 
which they were to announce — all having been 
distinctly specified and clearly taught; still they 
were to tarry in Jerusalem until they should be 
clothed with power from on liigh. This is 
deeply significant, and is worthy of calm and 
serious meditation. 

It is obvious to remark that primarily this 
had reference to the miraculous endowment of 
the apostles for their special work. They were 
to be the first preachers of the gospel; they 
were to open the doors of the kingdom of 
heaven; they were to prescribe the terms of 
admission into it; and, in a word, to establish 
precedents for all time to come. It was pecu- 



POWER FROM ON HIGH. 37 

liarly necessary, therefore, that their minds 
should be supernaturally strengthened and illu- 
minated; that they should be guided into all 
truth, and preserved from the possibility of 
mistake or error. All this may be granted — 
must be granted; but still, if this power from 
on high be regarded, as perhaps by some it may 
be, as merely an intellectual safeguard — as only 
the security that the truth, and nothing but the 
truth, should be preached — I must think that 
such conception is inadequate. Over and above 
all this, and perhaps even more important than 
all this, was the influence of the Divine Spirit 
upon the apostles' own moral and spiritual 
natures, bringing them into sympathy with 
God, elevating their thoughts, purifying their 
affections, ennobling their purposes, and so 
sanctifying them, body, soul and spirit, as to 
make them worthy to represent the Son of 
God, and to be the bearers of his divine 
message. 

And this brings us to the inquiry: What 
interest, what practical interest, have we of this 
nineteenth century in the subject now under 
consideration? Does it in any wise concern us? 



38 FIRST PRINCIPLES. 

Are we in any sense, and, if so, in what sense, 
to expect the continued presence and influence 
of this same power from on high? Many, per- 
haps, in view of the fact that its original coming 
was miraculous, and that its primary object was 
exceptional, would answer, No. But to my 
mind these considerations are by no means con- 
clusive. Of course we eliminate the miraculous 
from our present view. No well instructed 
Christian can now look for outpourings of the 
Holy Spirit. We shall have no more pente- 
costal scenes, no more pentecostal sounds from 
heaven. Nor will the special work of that 
memorable day ever be repeated. But we can 
not forget that the same Spirit which came then 
with signs and wonders and divers gifts, came to 
remain; to abide, without the signs, the won- 
ders and the gifts, but still to abide, as a Living 
Presence and a Divine Power, forever. 

In considering the subject as I now do, in 
connection with the preaching of the gospel — 
for so it is presented in the commission which 
I am discussing — and in seeking to apply the 
essential elements of the doctrine to our modern 
life and work, it will suffice to indicate a few 



POWER FROM ON HIGH. 39 

of the errors respecting it into which men seem 
liable to fall. 

And first it can hardly have escaped the 
notice of any one that ministers of fine natural 
and acquired ability are not always, indeed not 
usually, the most spiritually minded. They are 
apt to rely upon their native gifts. And it is 
scarcely necessary to say that an*able man, such 
as I have described, may, simply from his own 
genius and intellectual resources, make a very 
fine discourse. There is, indeed, no reason why 
he should not be able to display, in the treatment 
of religious subjects, all those powers which 
would bring him distinction and renown upon 
any secular theater. I can imagine that Cicero, 
furnished simply with an intellectual outfit of 
Biblical knowledge, could, with the stimulus of 
ample fees, have made a very popular preacher. 
Genius, imagination, art, learning, expression, 
and w^hatever else goes to constitute oratory, lose 
neither their nature nor their influence when 
transferred from the forum to the pulpit. Nor is 
it wrong to use there these natural and acquired 
gifts. Let them all be brought and conse- 
crated to the work of the ministry. But what 



40 FIRST PRINCIPLES. 

I wish to say with all proper emphasis is that 
these alone, without the power from on high, do 
not suffice to make a true preacher of the gospel. 
No man, I care not who he is, nor what he is, 
can bear to his fellow-man a message from God 
unless he has himself been with God. He must 
have the mellowing, hallowing, sanctifying in- 
fluence upon his own soul, which comes only 
from habitual and intimate communion with 
God. The Apostolic benediction, "Tlie grace 
of the Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God, 
and i\iQ fellowship of the Holy Spirit/^ must rest 
upon and abide with every true and acceptable 
preacher of the gospel. Apart from this, a 
man's service is either cold and perfunctory, 
or else his eloquence has but the warmth of 
natural heat — if indeed it be not a glittering 
icicle. Whatever notions, therefore, it may 
please men to entertain respecting the nature 
of spiritual influence or the mode of its opera- 
tion, it is at least certain that, as a fact, it is the 
Spirit that is to convict the world of sin, of 
righteousness, and of judgment, and this he does 
through the preaching of the word. The in- 
fluence, consequently, must come out of the 



POWER FROM ON HIGH. 41 

heart of the preacher, and be borne along with 
his message. Truly, it is a sacred and solemn 
thing to be a preacher of the gospel — to preach 
it with the Holy Spirit sent down from heaven. 

What is desiderated, however, is not some 
wild and extravagant frenzy which enthusiasts 
may call the influence of the Spirit. This may 
be in whole or in part a delusion, and we may 
well guard ourselves against it. But there is a 
true and real, a genuine and most blessed in- 
fluence of the Spirit, which is absolutely indis- 
pensable to the generation and maintenance of 
Christian life ; and the preacher who ignores it, 
who fails to avail himself of it, and to be filled 
more and more with it, has missed his calling, 
and is really engaged in secularizing a most 
sacred vocation. 

I may add, in conclusion upon this point, 
that the Disciples of Christ, who most truly 
believe that in conversion the Spirit operates 
through the word of truth, that he begets men 
to the new life by the gospel, should of 
all men be most solicitous, while preaching 
that gospel, to be themselves filled with that 
Spirit. 



42 FIRST PRINCIPLES. 

But while insisting, as I have been doing, 
upon the genuineness and necessity of the 
Spirit^s influence, I yet have no sort of sym- 
pathy with much that passes for soundness on 
this subject. I do not now refer to any of those 
hysterical exhibitions which often, among the 
ignorant and vulgar, acccompany religious ex- 
citement, and which it is gratuitously assumed 
are evidences of the Spirit^s presence and power. 
These it may suffice us here to pity and to dis- 
miss. But among the cultivated and strong — 
among ministers of pure hearts and sound minds 
— there seems to be, if I can express myself 
accurately, a sort of straining after verbal sound- 
ness — the manifestation of great anxiety to have 
the doctrine respecting the Holy Spirit's influ- 
ence strongly and constantly stated ^ as though 
that were equivalent to the thing itself, or at 
any rate necessary to the attainment of it. 
Under all circumstances and on all possible 
occasions, whatever else may be left out, men 
are sure to be reminded of the necessity of the 
Spirit's influence. Now my objection to this is 
not that I do not believe in this influence, for I 
do; but it is because it is teaching men, as it 



POWER FROM ON HIGH. 43 

seems to me, to look for it outside of the place 
where God reveals that it is to be found. In- 
stead of being helpful, therefore, it is rather 
confusing and distracting. Of course in a com- 
pany of Christians, met together to increase 
their spiritual joys and cultivate their spiritual 
natures, my objection does not hold. But in 
preaching the gospel to sinners — to men who 
are called in the Bible "the world,'^ and who 
as such, it expressly declares, " can not receive " 
nor " know '^ the Spirit, the case is totally differ- 
ent. And it surprises me that good men and 
faithful ministers of Jesus Christ have been so 
slow to recognize the fact that they have no 
commission to preach the Holy Spirit. It is 
our business, our whole business, aided and 
comforted and strengthened and filled by that 
Spirit, to preach the gospel of Christ, in the 
confident assurance that the great source of 
light and life will not fail to do his work, and 
do it all the more surely by having the mind of 
the sinner directed to Christ whom he can know, 
rather than to himself whom he can not know. 
j The special object which I have here in view 
does not call for a discussion of the general 



44 FIEST PRINCIPLES. 

subject of spiritual influence; and I shall be 
content if I have, while guarding against cer- 
tain natural mistakes, made it plain that the 
preacher, of all Christians, should most earnestly 
seek the Holy Spirit — to help his infirmities, to 
enlighten his judgment, to warm his heart, to 
enlarge his sympathies — that he may be able to 
preach Christ in love and in power. 



CHAPTER VI. 

BEARING WITNESS. 

If I dwell upon the preaching of the gospel 
with its concomitants as presented in the com- 
mission, before proceeding to the consideration 
of other elementary principles, it is because of 
my high appreciation of its transcendent impor- 
tance. Having in previous chapters discussed 
the subject matter of the gospel, the wisdom of 
God in ordaining that this gospel should be 
preached, and having considered the necessity 
for the presence and power of the Divine Spirit 
to qualify for this preaching, we come at length 
and in fine to the witnessing of the gospel. 

When the Saviour says to the apostles at the 
close of Luke's version of the commission, 
" And ye are witnesses of these things," he re- 
fers to their testimony to the objective facts of 
the gospel of which they were personally cogni- 
zant. They were to bear witness to what they 
themselves with their natural senses had seen 
and heard. It goes without saying that, in this 
precise and definite meaning, the application of 



46 FIRST PRINCIPLES. 

the passage is confined to the apostles. No one 
can now bear such testimony as they were com- 
petent, and therefore required, to furnish. But 
it occurs to me that, underlying this special and 
necessarily restricted application of the text, 
there is a broad principle of universal applica- 
tion, and of very great value. Before proceed- 
ing, however, to the consideration of this 
principle, I deem it necessary to call attention 
to an abuse of the word " testimony " and its 
cognates, which has been introduced into the 
pulpit and elsewhere, and which I think is not 
friendly to the cause of truth. I refer to the 
practice, which is quite common in some places, 
of narrating certain emotional or other personal 
experie7ices, and calling it a ^' testimony for 
Christ.^' Frequently it is made a leading object, 
with professional and enthusiastic evangelists to 
induce men to arise in the congregation and 
^^ testify for Christ." Now the objection to this 
is not that what is said is false or even doubtful. 
It may every Avord be true. The man thus 
" testifying " may have experienced all the 
peace and joy and comfort which he reports: 
and if the question appertained simply to the 



BEARING WITNESS. 47 

fact of such experience, he would be a com- 
petent "witness/' and his "testimony" migbt 
be regarded as conclusive. But the question 
upon which he is assuming to testify is not the 
fact of his experience, but the cause, the mean- 
ing, the explanation of it. And while he may- 
give us his honest judgment upon this point — 
his opinion, his belief, his conviction — it is in no 
proper sense testimony, and would not be re- 
garded as evidence before any competent tri- 
bunal. And now if this practice of so-called 
'^ testifying " bases itself, as I suppose it must, 
upon those scriptures requiring the apostles to 
bear witness to what they had seen and known, 
the misapplication and abuse of such scriptures 
are manifest, and nothing more need be said. 

We come now to consider the meaning for us, 
and for all men, and for all time, of the Saviour's 
commission to bear testimony ; of the fact that 
he raised up and qualified chosen men who were 
to " be witnesses unto him in Jerusalem, and in 
all Judea, and in Samaria, and unto the utter- 
most part of the earth'' (Acts i. 8). I think 
that no one whose attention is called to it can 
read this passage, and the numerous others of 



48 FIRST PRINCIPLES. 

similar import, without perceiving that our 
Saviour evidently contemplated that the pro- 
duction of faith and the propagation of his 
religion were not to be by the inworhing of a 
direct and supernatural agency j but on the con- 
trary, were to be strictly in harmony with the 
natural constitution and established laws of the 
human mind. Men were not to be made to 
believe, but were to be furnished grounds and 
reasons for believing. Their intelligence was 
to be addressed ; facts were to be submitted ; 
evidences in proof of those facts adduced ; and 
these, if duly weighed and considered, would 
satisfy the mind, and result in belief. Faith 
comes by hearing — by hearing that naturally 
which is designed and fitted to produce faith. 
It is also to be noted that, in harmony with 
this same intelligent design and most reasonable 
contemplation, the Saviour provided, not only 
that the apostles should bear witness to the facts 
which had come within their personal knowledge, 
but that their testimony should be confirmed by 
evidences drawn from the sacred Scriptures. 
Hence, primarily by his instruction, and subse- 
quently by the illumination of the Holy Spirit, 



BEARING WITNESS. 49 

they were made competent to show that " thus 
it is written that the Christ should suffer, and 
rise again from the dead the third day.'' 

Finally, it is implied in the commission, and 
is elsewhere expressly taught, that the Spirit for 
whose coming they were to wait was to come as 
a witness — bearing testimony concurrent with 
their own. We read, for instance, in John xv. 
26, 27 : " But when the Comforter is come, 
whom I will send unto you from the Father, 
even the Spirit of truth which proceedeth from 
the Father, he shall testify of me ; and ye also 
shall bear witness^ because ye have been with me 
from the beginning." Afterwards, therefore, 
Peter and the other apostles might well say : 
" We are his witnesses of these things ; and so is 
also the Holy Spirit, whom God hath given to 
them that obey him " (Acts v. 32). 

It must now, I think, be sufficiently manifest 
that the design and expectation of the Saviour 
were not to constrain men to accept him ; their 
minds, their wills, their self-hood were to be left 
intact ; and they were to be led to him by the 
presentation of proofs — evidences to convince 
them that he was the Christ ; and all the agen- 



50 FIRST PRINCIPLES. 

cies which were engaged in this enterprise, both 
natural and supernatural, concurred in this de- 
sign, and co-operated to this end. 

As to the practical lesson which we may learn 
from the facts above stated, it is not far to seek. 
It is a lesson of principle rather than of detail. 
We are not able, as were the apostles, to bear 
original testimony to the facts of the gospel; 
the Holy Spirit no longer witnesses with signs 
and wonders, and divers miracles and gifts ; but 
it by no means follows that testimony has ceased 
to be necessary, or that in anything which may 
be properly called preaching it can be dispensed 
with. It is just as true in this age as it was in 
the first, that faith is the " belief of the truth '' ; 
and it is generated in precisely the same way 
that it was in the beginning. Hence it may be 
noticed, doubtless many of my readers have 
noticed, that the most successful preachers of 
our times — those who are doing most to pro- 
mote the honor and glory of Christ, by leading 
men to trust and love and serve him — are those 
whose preaching is most full of evidences. I do 
not refer to the formal and systematized " evi- 
dences of Chnstianity*^ ; nor yet to evidences in 



BEARING WITNESS. 51 

support of the inspiration and authority of 
the Bible. The occasions when these are neces- 
sary in the pulpit, if ever, are rare and special. 
But what I mean is the presentation of the 
testimonies concerning Christ — the testimonies 
as we have them treasured up for us in the 
written word. Surely if Christ enjoined the 
use of this evidence, and if the apostles and the 
Holy Spirit availed themselves of it — quoting, 
applying and urging it, as 'proof of the Christ- 
hood and Divinity of Jesus — it is still valid for 
all the purposes that it then subserved; and, with 
the addition of the New Testament, it gives us 
a full and inexhaustible store of divine and 
most effective testimony. "Preach the word.'* 
" Christ died for our sins aecording to the script- 
ures.^' "He was buried and rose again the 
third day according to the scriptures.''' " The 
things which God foreshowed by the mouth of 
all the prophets, that his Christ should suffer, he 
thus fulfilled.*^ This, then, is the God-appointed 
road to faith. It is not by talking about it, nor 
by insisting upon its importance, nor by explain- 
ing its nature, its place in the Christian system, 
or its effect upon the conduct and relations of 



52 FIRST PRINCIPLES 

him who believes — all of which has its interest 
and its subsidiary importance ; but to produce 
it — to generate it in the heart — we must rely 
upon "the testimony of Jesus" which is "the 
spirit of prophecy/' and upon those suppletory 
evidences with which the New Testament every- 
where abounds. " Faith cometh '' — cometh into 
existence — "by hearing the word of God." 

This chapter, and with it the general subject 
of the gospel, of which it forms a part, may 
properly close with a word of encouragement. 
There is no higher office nor honor than that of 
bearing witness to Christ. Apostles and proph- 
ets, angels from heaven, the Spirit of God, 
and God himself, bear witness to him. And 
although our testimony be, as it must be, only 
secondary and subordinate, it is still of high 
consequence to give life and warmth and force 
to that which else would be quiescent and 
inoperative. Whoever, therefore, is able, by 
study and meditation, and by daily communion 
with God, to bring forth this testimony from 
the fullness of his own soul and as the heart- 
burst of his own love ; nay, to bring it forth 
with the tenderness, the grace and the power of 



BEARING WITNESS. 53 

the Divine Spirit with which he is filled, may 
well feel that he is in fellowship with all highest 
intelligences, and that he is engaged in the most 
sacred and most important of vocations. 



CHAPTER VII. 

THE ACCEPTANCE. 

We have at length reached an entirely new 
phase of our main subject. Hitherto our atten- 
tion has been fixed exclusively upon its divine 
aspects — what God has done, and what, through 
his appointed means and agencies, he is now 
doing for the salvation of men. We have been 
looking upon the vast and mighty streams of 
force and influence flowing from his love and 
wisdom, and we have seen them at length con- 
centrated and brought together in the gospel 
as the one mighty "power of God unto salva- 
tion.'' Outside of this gospel, and concurrently 
with it, he is doubtless still working in the 
sphere of his gracious providence — working in 
ways which are "past finding out.'' He rules 
the world. He has not retired from it. He 
worketh all things after the counsel of his own 
will. 

He stirreth up the sea with his power, 

And by his understanding he smiteth through Rahab. 

By his spirit the heavens are garnished ; 

His hand hath pierced the swift serpent. 

5i 



THE ACCEPTANCE. 55 

Lo, these are but the outskirts of his ways : 
And how small a whisper do we hear of him ! 
But the thunder of his power who can understand ? 

(Job XXVI.) 

I sympathize with my fellow-men when their 
thoughts run in great channels like the above ; 
when they think of God's almighty power; of 
the omnipresence of his Spirit; and of the 
boundlessness of his resources. And yet it is 
possible to abuse these lofty conceptions by 
making them the basis of an unsafe and unsay- 
ing trust. There is nothing in mere force, even 
though it be almighty force, that can redeem 
and sanctify. The soul can not be saved simply 
by the exertion upon it of miraculous power/ 
Startling as this proposition may be, and as 
doubtless it will be to those who have been 
accustomed to rely upon such power, and to 
wait and look and long and pray for it as the 
one thing needful, it is still unquestionably the 
truth; and a moment's serious consideration, 
without bias or prejudice, will show that it 
must be the truth. We have but to note that 
miraculous power is nothing more than divine 
power, and that its exertion or putting forth by 
the Divine Being is just as easy to him as that 



66 FJKST PRINCIPLES. 

which ordinarily reaches its end through the 
normal channels which we call laws. He has 
but to will, and it is done. If, therefore, he 
desires, as he certainly does, the salvation of 
men, and if that salvation could be accomplished 
by the transforming influence of miraculous 
power — that is, by simply willing it to be done 
— surely it is not possible for us to believe that 
he would withhold that will. Nor can we be- 
lieve that he would have sent his beloved Son 
into the world to suffer the untold and immeas- 
urable agonies of Gethsemane and the cross if 
those for whom he died could have been saved 
by the mere exertion of his power. It is also 
obvious to remark, and extremely suggestive to 
notice, that that beloved Son while upon the 
earth, who had come expressly to seek and to 
save the lost — and though his whole life was 
one grand display of supernatural power, put 
forth in every sphere of our mundane existence, 
in nature, in human life, in death, and even in 
the realm of the spirit world — yet so true was 
he to the everlasting and immutable will of his 
Father, and so careful to preserve the safe- 
guards of our proper and necessary self-hood, 



THE ACCEPTANCE. 57 

he never exerted his miraculous power directly 
upon the soul of a single human being. It 
seems not once to have occurred to his perfect 
wisdom that a lost soul could be saved in that 
way. These considerations, if duly weighed, 
can hardly fail to be deemed conclusive upon 
the point in question. 

But while very few might be disposed to 
regard miraculous agency as sufficient, in and 
of itself, to accomplish the work of human sal- 
vation, there are many who look upon it as 
necessary in the way of antecedent preparation. 
The doctrine appears to be that, although the 
direct and supernatural power of God can not 
really save the soul, it can and it does prepare 
the soul to be saved. I believe that I should 
not overstate the position if I were to say not 
only that this power ordinarily can and doeSy 
but that uniformly it must do this preliminary 
work. The soul is thought to be so dead in 
sins, so dark in its understanding, so enfeebled 
in all its powers, that it is not able to accept 
the gospel. It must be quickened, illuminated, 
strengthened by an immediate influence of the 
Holy Spirit, operating without means or agen- 



58 FIRST PRINCIPLES. 

cies, directly upon and within the substance 
of the soul itself. And if the state of human 
nature is indeed such as is here postulated, it 
will at once be conceded that some such force, 
antecedent and supplementary to that of the 
gospel, must also be postulated as a condition 
of salvation sine qua non. 

Nor is it to be wondered at that those who 
accept these postulates, and who feel the nec- 
essity of adjusting their work to assumptions 
so fundamental and controlling, not only preach 
the gospel of Christ, but along with it and in 
front of it " another gospel '^ of the Holy Spirit. 
They are consistent in doing so, and they would 
be quite inconsistent if they should act other- 
wise. For certainly, if no man can accept the 
gospel until he is first quickened by a power 
operating outside and independently of the gos- 
pel, such influence, as it is to be first in his 
experience, should be first presented to his con- 
sideration. Nay, more: the whole process of 
what, for want of a better word, I may call 
modern revivalism hinges upon the same as- 
sumption, and is to be approved or condemned 
along with it. This process is admirably calcu- 



THE ACCEPTANCE, 69 

lated and designed in its discourses, prayers, 
songs and other exercises, to fix the mind of 
the expectant sinner upon the Holy Spirit as 
the power which is to come from heaven to re- 
generate, to convert and to bless. We note 
especially the earnest prayer to God — for in the 
main it is earnest, and its motive not to be 
questioned — that he would send down the Holy 
Spirit; that he would pour it out upon those 
who are waiting for it and dependent upon it. 
Now, it can not escape the observation of any 
one whose attention is directed to it that in 
this procedure, and in the assumption which 
underlies it, there are two distinct and separate 
objects and forces presented to the mind : the 
one present, but of itself ineffectual, namely, the 
gospel; the other absent, but inherently and 
alone powerful and efficacious — the Holy Spirit. 
The 'gospel, it should be understood, is by no 
means ignored in this scheme. It is always 
preached; frequently it is most ably, most ten- 
derly, most pungently, preached. But at the 
same time what seems to be expected from this 
preaching — what it is supposed the gospel is 
designed to accomplish, and is able to acccom- 



60 FIBST PRINCIPLES. 

plish — is not the salvation of the soul, but the 
bringing home to it of the fact that it is lost. 
When this effect is produced — which, as we shall 
see hereafter, is certainly a necessary effect — it 
can do no more. The lost, helpless, impotent 
soul must wait and look for the saving power to 
come in from without, from abroad, from above. 
If it come, well and good; if it fail to come, 
there is no help for it. There is no other re- 
source. 

I am far from believing that those whose 
evangelistic practices seem to justify me in thus 
characterizing their position have really thought 
it over in detail as I have presented it. Many 
of them perhaps are wholly unconscious of its 
amazing incongruities; and they may even be 
shocked at the intimation that they have really 
been preaching a Christless, Spiritless, Godless 
gospel ; that is to say, a gospel from which the 
saving influence of these divine personalities is 
absent. Such in my judgment is the true mean- 
ing of their theory, and the significance of their 
revival practices. And yet they are often sig- 
nally successful in turning men from sin and 
winning them to Christ; successful, however, 



THE ACCEPTANCE. 61 

not because the theory upon which they pro- 
ceed is true — for it certainly is not — but in spite 
of it; successful because, notwithstanding the 
error of their theological assumption, they really 
preach Christ and him crucified, and preach 
him with an unction and love generated in their 
own hearts by the Spirit of God. And so they 
often impart and convey the saving grace 
treasured up in the gospel, even while bewilder- 
ing the minds of men by teaching them to look 
elsewhere for it. But, oh, what tongue can tell, 
what imagination can conceive the success of 
that gospel — its glorious and world-wide tri- 
umphs — if all who believe and love it could be 
brought to preach it free from the confusions, 
the inconsistencies, the incongruities with whieh 
theology has encumbered and surrounded it ! 

I have already in a previous chapter empha- 
sized the importance and necessity of the Holy 
Spirit's presence in the preacher. What I there 
said had reference specially and mainly to his 
personal qualification and endowment for the 
work of the ministry. It was urged in effect; 
if not in terms, that he could not properly bear 
the divine message to the world without him- 



62 FIRST PRINCIPLES. 

self being filled with the divine Spirit. And 
now we come to say, with somewhat more dis- 
tinctness than formerly, that this is God's 
method of imparting this Spirit to the world. 
Men are not to expect it to come down from 
heaven; they are not to look beyond the sea, 
nor down in the deep for it, nor even to think 
of it, so far as they are concerned with it, as 
something separate and foreign. It has its per- 
manent residence in the Church; and it puts 
forth its influence from the Church, its living 
home, and through the Church, its living organ. 
Its gospel is there ; not the gospel bound up in 
a book — this is mere instruction, mere informa- 
tion concerning it — but the gospel as it lives 
and breathes and glows in sanctified hearts. 
And not the Church's preaching only, but all 
its activities and blessed states, its words of 
comfort and peace, its prayers, its praises, its 
exhortations, it observances of the ordinances 
of grace — all are of the Spirit, and pervaded hy 
the Spirit ; for the Church, the true Church of 
Christ, does and must " live in the Spirit and 
walk in the Spirit.'' And when all the people 
of God shall have learned, as, after a while, I 



THE ACCEPTANCE. 63 

trust that by his grace they will, that for all 
the work of salvation and sanctification the 
Holy Spirit is not to be regarded as a far-away 
influence, as a distant something which may or 
may not come, but as an ever-present power, 
as the very atmosphere of the spiritual body, 
in which and by which it lives and moves and 
has its being, they will constitute, indeed, the 
Church of the living God. To use another 
image, all the riches of grace have been gathered 
into God^s spiritual house; his fatlings are 
killed; his table is spread; the feast is pre- 
pared; all things are ready. "And the Spirit 
and the bride say. Come, and let him that 
heareth say, Come; and whosoever will, let 
him take the water of life freely.'^ Human 
destiny hinges upon the acceptance or rejection 
of this gospel call. How it is to be accepted 
will next demand our careful consideration. 



CHAPTER VIII. 
THE GOSPEL BELIEVED. 

The elementary faith, or that which precedes 
justification, is not in all respects identical with 
that repose of the soul upon God which char- 
acterizes the Christian's faith or trust. The 
sinner begins his approach to this final goal by 
believing something about God ; and this some- 
thing which he is first of all to believe, and by 
believing which he is to be led on to ultimate 
salvation from sin, and into fellowship with the 
Divine Being, is the gospel. But exactly in 
what way the gospel operates to produce this 
result is a point which merits the closest atten- 
tion ; and I feel that I could render no more 
profitable service to my reader than by inducing 
him to think upon it. And if he should be led 
to a careful and discriminative study of the 
scriptures bearing upon it, he could hardly fail 
to find a rich reward. 

It has not escaped the notice of any one that 
the facts which the apostles proclaimed to the 
world as gospel, are two — the death and resur- 

64 



THE GOSPEL BELIEVED. 65 

rection of Christ. In preaching to the Co- 
rinthians, the apostle, doubtless for some special 
reason, also laid emphasis upon the fact of the 
burial — not, I presume, because of any saving 
efficacy in this fact, but because it tended to 
show the reality of the death and resurrection. 
Ordinarily these two constituted the substance 
of the apostolic proclamation, and these alone 
are specified in the commission. 

We can hardly avoid the supposition that 
when two elements were thus used which were 
as totally unlike in their nature as death and life, 
and which had nothing in common, each was 
expected to have an effect peculiar to itself. 
Death was not to do the work of life, nor life 
that of death. We do not say here and now 
that this was so; we merely suggest it as a 
reasonable preconception. But even if it should 
prove to be the case, we should still expect that 
elements so intimately associated in the apostles' 
thought and speech would sometimes be referred 
to without discriminating their several and 
special work. We are not surprised, conse- 
quently, to find that in certain passages where 
only the grand results of the gospel are before 



66 FIRST PRINCIPLES. 

the mind the whole effect is ascribed now to one 
and now to the other of these two forces. At 
the same time, whenever it is deemed proper for 
any reason to specialize them, the distinction be" 
tween their respective functions is clearly stated 
and consistently maintained. 

When we read, for example, that we are 
'•justified by his blood," that he "appeared to 
put away sin by the sacrifice of himself," that 
*^we have redemption through his blood, even 
the forgiveness of sins," and other passages of 
like force, I do not understand these scriptures 
to teach the direct and immediate effect of his 
blood, of his sacrifice, but rather the ultimate 
and consequential results. His death made all 
this possible ; it brought a changed condition of 
things which led up to it — but in very deed it 
is God and only God who justifieth, who for- 
giveth sin, who redeemeth the soul. For it is 
manifest that these are effects which naturally 
proceed from life, and not from death. 

But now let us look at a few examples of 
scriptures like the following : " And you that 
were sometimes alienated and enemies in your 
mind by wicked works, yet now hath he recon- 



THE GOSPEL BELIEVED. 67 

died in the body of his flesh through death '' 
(Col. i. 21, 22). " That he might reconcile both 
in one body by the cross, having slain the enmity 
thereby " (Eph. ii. 16). '^ For if, when we were 
enemies we were reconciled to God by the death 
of his Son, much more, being reconciled, we 
shall be saved by his life'^ (Rom. v. 10). 

It is not easy to mistake the force and bearing 
of the texts, but a few words of comment may 
serve to emphasize the important truth which 
they teach, while at the same time illustrating 
the nature and effect of the elementary faith of 
the gospel. 

Enemies of God are his adversaries or an- 
tagonists. They not only oppose him, but, like 
the servants in the parable, they hate him. 
Bat it should be noted that unfriendliness and 
hatred spring from a cause, real or supposed ; 
and in this case the cause is the supposed harsh- 
ness and tyranny of God, who is thought of as 
^' a hard Master." The result is the separation 
of man from God, and his disobedience and 
rebellion. Now in order to correct this erro- 
neous opinion, and so bring man back into friend- 
ship with God, it is necessary to prove to him 



68 FIRST PRINCIPLES. 

in some way^that it is false, nay, that the very 
opposite is the truth ; that God is really com- 
passionate ; that he desires to promote the 
happiness and well being of his creatures ; that 
he truly loves them, and seeks earnestly to 
save and to bless them ; and that, notwith- 
standing their rebellion, he stands ready to for- 
give them, and to receive them back into his 
favor. 

The belief of these propositions must come 
in every instance from an attentive hearing and 
candid consideration of the gospel message. In 
no case can it be produced without this message. 
It is not something to be handed down immedi- 
ately from heaven. It is not an effect wrought 
by any abstract or mysterious influence. Men 
must all be taught of God. In order to save sin- 
ners, God approaches them first of all with his 
word. He speaks to them. He demands their 
attention. He calls upon them to hear — to lis- 
ten — for he has something he wishes to say to 
them. And then he speaks of his merciful dis- 
position ; that he does not desire the death of 
any, but rather that all should turn to him and 
live; and that he would welcome them back. 



THE GOSPEL BELIEVED. 69 

forgiving all their sins, and filling their hearts 
with joy and gladness. 

And now the proof of all this — for it re- 
quires proof; it is intrinsically so improbable, 
so contrary to all the sinner's preconceptions, 
that he naturally hesitates, and waits to be 
assured. And precisely here it is that we see 
the meaning and force of Christ's death. For 
that death was not a mere " economic arrange- 
ment " ; not the execution of a cold " plan," 
which demanded it at a certain point ; not a 
" scheme,^' nor a governmental " policy,'^ but 
the expression of a divine heart. God so 
earnestly desired to save men, that he withheld 
not his own Son, who was also in perfect sym- 
pathy with him, but freely sent him into the 
world to try to save thera ; and so much was his 
heart in it, that, in the prosecution of that effort, 
rather than abandon it, he even sacrificed his 
beloved Son. And thus " God commendeth his 
love to us, in that while we were yet sinners, 
Christ died for us." 

Now it must be evident that when this is once 
clearly perceived, and really felt to he true, the 
enmity which was based upon the negation of it 



70 FIRST PRINCIPLES. 

is obliged to give way. The supposed cause for 
hatred is displaced by the real cause for love. 
And, however we may call this belief, whether 
primary, elementary, historical or even intel- 
lectual, I am unable to understand how any one 

— by the exercise of whatever faculties — can 
accept this story as the truth, without at the same 
time believing that God is love ; and thus he is 
reconciled to him — "reconciled to God by 
the death of his Son.^' And just here I am 
reminded of one of Frederick Robertson's 
happy expressions. He says, " The death of 
Christ represented the life of God.'^ Yes; for 
in representing what God is in his relation to 
the sinner, it represented what he is in himself 

— essential Love. 

I have felt called upon to present these re- 
flections with some fullness, because I have so 
often heard the death of Christ spoken of, and 
even tenderly spoken of, but still in a way that 
could give no rational satisfaction to the heart. 
It seemed to be presented, not as the means by 
which the soul is to be led up to God, but as an 
ultimate object — as an end and resting place in 
itself, and as having mysterious and inexplicable 



THE GOSPEL BELIEVED. 71 

saving power of its own. But in truth, when- 
ever we believe in and reljupon it as an isolated 
and independent fact, apart from its significance 
and its natural effect, our faith is mystical and 
without reason. " That Christ died for our sins 
according to the scriptures,'^ is a precious truth. 
It is a part, but it is only a part of the gospel 
bv which we are saved. It has its own neces- 
sary end to accomplish, an end which nothing 
else can accomplish ; we are reconciled to God 
by the death of his Son, but we are saved by his 
life. 

It is not deemed necessary to show in detail 
that the main tenor and current of apostolic 
teaching is in harmony with the above con- 
ception. The thoughtful student will perceive 
that their preaching of " Christ crucified" was 
in fact the preaching of the living Christ who 
was crucified ; or, in other words, it was " Christ, 
and him crucified"; Christ who had died for 
our offenses, and risen again for our justification. 
And so the apostle asks : ^^ Who is he that con- 
demneth? It is Christ that died, yea, rather 
that is risen again." And he is not only risen 
from the dead, but he is exalted to be a Prince 



72 FIBST PRINCIPLES. 

and a Saviour. In one word, ihey preached 
him as he proclaimed himself, when he said : " I 
am he that liveth, and was dead; and behold, 
/ am alive for evermore.''^ 

And so this great gospel — with its death and 
ils life, its crucifixion and its resurrection, its 
shame and its glory — comes before us with all 
its elements harmonized, and all its influence 
concurrent, that through it and in it we may 
look upon the loviaig and living God, and upon 
his only begotten Son, our Saviour, who died 
for us and rose again. 

I have only to add that, in my apprehension 
of the matter, it is not necessary for the sinner 
— if indeed it be for any one — to settle or even 
to consider the speculative questions which men 
have raised about toe atonement, or the effect 
of Christ's death upon the Divine Being. The 
subject is beyond ma-n's power to fathom. It is 
as deep as God. 

But whether in our feeble thinking we regard 
the sacrifice of Christ as having propitiated God, 
or as having itself resulted from his already 
propitious disposition ; whether we regard it as 
cause or as effeetj or as being simply the ap- 



THE GOSPEL BELIEVED, 7d 

pointed medium through which the grace of 
God could consistently and righteously flow; 
whether we think of it as the payment of a debt, 
or as the satisfaction of justice, or as having some 
other effect — so far as our present inquiry is 
concerned it matters not. For whether we 
understand that the sacrifice of Christ simply 
reveals the gracious and propitious attitude of 
God, or that, having first induced, it then reveals 
it — in either case it does reveal it; and this is 
the one and only aspect of the subject in which 
the sinner is vitally and practically interested. 
And now the effect upon him of seeing, believ- 
ing, and feeling this truth will demand careful 
consideration. 



CHAPTER IX. 

CONVICTION OF SIN. 

We saw in the preceding chapter that the 
gospel, when believed, produced a certain effect 
upon the sinner; and we noticed especially the 
effect produced by believing the first proposition 
of the gospel proclamation, "that Christ died 
for our sins, according to the Scriptures." We 
attempted to show that there"was an immediate 
and causal connection between the fact stated 
and the result; or, in other words, that the 
death of the Son of God was naturally fitted 
by its very meaning to produce the effect; and 
it will be remembered that we characterized 
this effect as " reconciliation.^' It may be nec- 
essary here, however, in order to avoid any 
possible misconstruction, to state explicitly that 
this primary "reconciliation" comes far short 
of that complete restoration to friendship and 
fellowship exhibited in the life and character 
and conduct of a Christian. This latter is rec- 
onciliation in fact — in practical relations — and 
is the goal towards which the former begins to 



CONVICTION OF SIN. 75 

lead the believing sinner. But at present we 
are considering him at the starting place, when 
he first perceives and recognizes, in the sending 
and the sacrifice of Christ, a manifestation of 
God's true character and attitude. This over- 
comes his own feeling of estrangement and 
enmity. He sees that he has been acting upon 
a false view, and that consequently his whole 
past course of rebellion was wrong. He sees 
God in Christ, and in all the history of Christ ; 
and so for him the prayer of the Saviour is 
answered : " That the world may believe that 
thou didst send me'' (Jno. xvii. 21.) 

And this brings before us a question which, 
however simple in itself, and however clearly 
answered in the Scriptures, has been so com- 
plicated by polemic discussions that, to the 
popular mind, it seems confused and difficult. 
I refer to the proper and natural effect of faith. 
Many persons think of faith as being a sort of 
arbitrary appointment, important because God 
has prescribed it, but having no vital and nec- 
essary connection with the blessings which suc- 
ceed it. These blessings are thought of very 
much like the child in a school thinks of the 



76 FIRST PEINC2PLES. 

prize oflPered by the teacher for diligence in 
study. He well knows that there is nothing 
in his diligence which tends to produce the 
prize; that it is in no sense causative, but only 
conditional ; and conditional merely because the 
teacher has so appointed and declared. The 
natural effect of diligence upon the mind and 
upon the character and attainments of the 
scholar is one thing, and the reward or prize, 
coming in ab extra, is a totally different one. 
Now I do not thiiik that any of the blessings 
ascribed to faith in the New Testament are 
given as a prize, or as an independent re- 
ward; they all come through it and out of 
it as a normal effect. Faith is calculated 
and fittted in the very nature of things to 
bring to pass certain results; and these are 
what we shall find in the Scriptures ascribed 
to it. 

When we thus look upon faith as something 
grounded in the very nature of God and of man 
and of their relations to each other — as some- 
thing, therefore, which was not made true by 
being revealed, but which was revealed because 
it is true — we shall not be surprised to find 



CONVICTION OF SIN. 77 

that the very first effect of this faith is one 
which seems to be conducting the soul away 
from salvation. We are not surprised, I say, 
because we see at once that this effect is normal 
and natural. The recognition and belief of the 
truth concerning God and Christ, so far from 
comforting and gladdening the heart, fill it with 
distress and anguish. But unfortunately, in- 
stead of a proper interpretation of this fact, 
instead of looking upon it as the necessary 
result of true belief, most of us have been taught 
to regard it as indicating something wrong or 
defective in the belief itself; and the believing 
sinner is gravely told in his distress that what 
he needs, and all that he needs, is to believe! 
But I am obliged to think that the man's faith 
is all right. He believes in God and Christ, 
and in all that has been done and suffered for 
him — believes it truly and heartily; and it is 
just because he does thus believe it that he is 
unhappy. What he needs, therefore, is not 
faith, for he has that; he has enough of it, 
and it is the right taith, and it is exercised in 
the right way, and it is having its right effect. 
What he needs, and what he feels in his soul 



78 FIRST PEINCIPLES. 

that he needs, is to get into the right practical 
relations with God. 

The distressed state of mind which is called 
conviction, and which is implied rather than 
expressed in the commission, is brought clearly 
and formally to our attention in John xvi. 8, 9 : 
" And he [the Comforter] when he is come, will 
convict the world in respect of sin, and of right- 
eousness, and of judgment : of sin, because they 
believe not on me'^ {Revised Version). There 
are several points connected with this result 
which call for special notice : 

1. It is the work of the Holy Spirit, the 
Comforter, or Advocate. He generates in the 
heart this profound sense of guilt and sin. It 
is not something that rises spontaneously in the 
consciousness; it is a product, the effect of an 
efficient cause, and that cause is the Divine 
Spirit. We may hence conclude that Avithout 
the presence and operation of that cause the 
effect would never be. 

2. This efficient cause operates to produce the 
effect stated, primarily through the apostles, and 
secondarily through the church and ministry. 
These, as stated in a previous chapter, consti- 



CONVICTION OF SIN. 79 

tute his organs, or the medium of communica- 
tion between himself and the world; and it is 
through this medium, which he fills with his 
own light and truth and power, that he operates 
upon the world. 

3. In effecting this work he uses, through 
the agency of these same organs, the gospel of 
Christ, in all the length and breadth of its 
facts, and in all the height and depth of their 
meaning. This gospel thus preached, with the 
Holy Spirit sent down from heaven, and with 
all the accumulated and cumulative testimonies 
in its support, produces in given cases faith, or 
a deliberate and heartfelt assurance that it is the 
truth; and, consequently, that God himself is, in 
very deed, what he is there represented to be, 
but what the sinner has never before believed 
that he really was. And thus in this very 
faith is revealed to him the enormity of the 
sin and guilt of his past life. He is "con- 
victed of sin." He realizes his desperate 
wickedness, and wakes up to the fact that he is 
lost! — lost because he is out of proper rela- 
tions with God, the only source of life and 
salvation. 



80 FIBST PBINCIFLEiy. 

But some one may say that my whole argu- 
ment here is directly opposed to the teaching 
of the text upon which I have assumed to base 
it; that while I urge that the Spirit convicts 
men of sin through faith, the text declares that 
it does so because of their want of faith. This 
objection, if viewed simply upon the surface, 
and without reference to explanatory Scriptures, 
would seem plausible. The text certainly does 
declare that '' he shall convict the world of 
sin. . . because they believe not on me." 
And now, whatever this means is the truth. 

It is scarcely necessary for me to say that I 
fully believe not only that unbelief is somehow 
connected with the '' conviction," but that it is 
the ground and cause of it. This is expressly 
stated, and puts the fact beyond controversy; 
but it does not settle the question as to the loca- 
tion of that fact. At what period of the sinner's 
history can unbelief be predicated of him? 
Shall we say it is after he believes the gospel, 
or before/ It seems to me that to ask this 
question is to answer it. Surely, after the Holy 
Spirit has brought the sinner to believe in Christ, 
he will not convict him of sin because of his 



CONVICTION OF SIN. 81 

(hen unbelief. There would be no ground for 
it. The existing fact would not justify it. It 
would really be convicting a man of sin for 
having yielded to the Spirit^s influence. But 
the accumulation of guilt and sin, resulting from 
the whole previous life of unbelief, is a present 
fact and all-sufficient ground for conviction. 

The usually accepted doctrine of two faiths, 
each before justification, the one " historical," 
the other " saving/' confuses the intellect, while 
it makes dark many an otherwise luminous pas- 
sage of holy writ. In this particular case, for 
example, the text is viewed through the medium 
of what is thought of as saving faith, and it is 
supposed to be the absence of this that consti- 
tutes the ground of conviction — as though the 
Holy Spirit would convict a man of sin for not 
exercising a kind of faith which is thought by 
those who teach it to be the immediate gift of 
Heaven, which the Saviour never mentions, and 
which an apostle mentions only to repudiate. 
I beg to suggest that if, instead of the phrase 
" saving faith,'' we were to accustom ourselves 
to speak of " the faith of the saved " in distinc- 
tion from that of the " unsaved," we should 



82 FIRST PRINCIPLES. 

point out a difference which is important and 
scriptural ; while at the same time we should 
avoid the expression of any preconception as to 
the process of transition from the one to the 
other. The faith of the unjustified or unsaved 
would then uniformly be understood to be the 
'^belief of the truth," the belief of the word, 
the belief of the gospel. That is what it is, and 
that is all that it is. If that does not save the 
sinner — and of course it does not — it is not 
because the faith is not of the right sort, but 
because he needs something else besides faith. 
And in my judgment if, instead of pointing 
him to that something else, we put him to 
looking for a different kind of faith, which he 
does not know where to find, nor how to get, 
we are misleading him. 

But to return to the meaning of the text 
which is under review, we have, happily, re- 
corded examples of the performance of this very 
work of the Spirit. The first instance given — 
found in the second chapter of Acts — is at once 
luminous and conclusive. In brief, the Apostle 
Peter preached the gospel — the Holy Spirit 
using him for that purpose; he bore witness to 



CONVICTION OF SIN. 83 

its fundamental facts, confirming his testimony 
by the Scriptures, and thus proved it to he the 
truth. Those who heard became satisfied that 
it was the truth ; they recognized it as such ; 
they believed it ; and at that very moment, and 
in consequence of that very fact, they were cut 
to the heart — "convicted of sin." But why? 
Manifestly not because of any defect or error in 
their present belief, for that was produced by 
the Spirit, and of course it was all right ; but 
they were painfully distressed and conscience- 
stricken because in their previous unbelief they 
had rejected and crucified their own Messiah. 
And now, what is to become of them ? What 
shall they do? What shall any sinner do who 
is in the same condition? The great commis- 
sion of the Saviour, as interpreted by the Holy 
Spirit, will answer. If what is wanted at this 
point is more faith, or a different sort of faith, 
it will tell us so. Or if something else besides 
faith is needed, it will tell us that, and tell us 
what ; and its answer will be authoritative and 
final. 



CHAPTER X. 

REPENTANCE, 

It is not to be expected that in all cases the 
feelings resulting from conviction of sin will be 
equally anguishing. They will naturally corre- 
spond in depth and pungency to the character of 
the antecedent life. A young girl trained up 
from her childhood under Christian influences, 
who has been taught from the very first the true 
character of God as shown in the blessed work 
liud sufferings of Christ, who has never disbe- 
lieved in the Lord, and much of whose conduct 
has been regulated and modified by conscious 
reference to his will, can not be classed with the 
Jews who crucified him, nor with Saul of 
Tarsus who murdered his followers, " ignorantly 
in unbelief." If such a girl should come to 
believe that, like Saul, she was " the chief of 
sinners/^ or that, like the Jews, she was guilty 
of betraying and murdering the Lord Jesus, it 
would not be the truth. Whatever may be con- 
cluded by metaphysical theology, I am clearly 
of the opinion that our Sunday-school scholars 

84 



REPENTANCE. 85 

should not be led to think that they must expe- 
rience, in order to their conversion, a sense of 
guilt which would be appropriate only in a 
Herod or a Caligula. And yet even the best of 
these scholars have not lived up to their light ; 
they have often gone into forbidden paths, and 
they are guilty of sins — sins of omission and 
of commission. In general the world with its 
allurements and pleasures has captivated their 
hearts, and led them away from Christ. They 
may have wandered off thoughtlessly, but still it 
was with the latent feeling that the requirements 
of God were unfriendly to them, and hence that 
he himself also was unfriendly. In demand- 
ing perfect consecration, involving self-denial 
and cross-bearing, it came to be felt that he 
was interfering with their true interest, and 
working against their highest happiness. And 
so in every case we find evidences of that same 
false judgment of which we previously spoke, 
that he is a hard Master ; that he demands more 
than he should; and that his demands are for 
his own sake, and not for theirs. We see, then, 
that in the best cases, as in the worst, the root 
of the trouble and danger is the same. All alike 



86 FIRST PRINCIPLES 

are out of proper relations with God — and of 
course the same is true of ever}^ intermediate 
shade and degree of sinfulness. In the case of 
the best, therefore, as well as in that of the 
toorst; or, as they are called in the parable of 
" both good and bad," the same change of rela- 
tions has to be effected, and effected in the same 
way. All alike must perceive and recognize in 
the gospel the love of God and of Christ; it 
must be brought home to the heart, must be 
believed as the very truth of God, resulting in 
the conviction of sin for not having previously 
believed it and acted upon it. 

We recur, then, to the question, ^' What is to 
be done?" 

I think it is to respond to this question, 
which thus naturally arises at this particular 
stage of the sinner's progress, that our Saviour 
prescribes in the commission the preaching of 
repentance in his name. And this prescription, 
it may be well to note, is precisely adapted to 
that condition of the sinner to which it is 
designed to apply. It tells him in fact, and 
tells him with authority and encouragement, to 
go forward and do the very thing which, in his 



REPENTANCE. 87 

present state, he is strongly, and as it were natu- 
rally, disposed to do. We may indeed suppose 
(so perfectly is the gospel adjusted to man's 
nature) that if the word repentance had never 
been uttered, nor any word equivalent to it, men 
convicted of sin would still in some sense have 
repented, being moved thereto by the very 
instincts of their souls. Deprived of the in- 
structions of the gospel, they would no doubt 
have proceeded with more or less blundering 
and uncertainty ; while, deprived of its promises, 
they would have lacked an important incentive 
to repentance. The natural impulse needs the 
reinforcement and the authoritative direction 
which the gospel supplies; but that such im- 
pulse exists, as a fact in our nature, whenever 
we are brought into the condition mentioned, is 
clearly seen in the case of the Ninevites. Jonah 
said not a word about repentance, but he brought 
them to believe in God, and thus convicted them 
of sin. This was all that he expected, and, as it 
appears, all that he desired, to accomplish. But 
when brought to this condition, they, of their 
own motion, "repented at the preaching oi 
Jonah." And now what did they dof The 



88 FIRST PRINCIPLES. 

question, it will be perceived, is important in 
this view; as the Saviour calls what they did 
repentanee, it will help us to the meaning of the 
word. Stated as briefly as possible, therefore^ 
what they did was the following: 1. They hum- 
bled themselves. It matters not how they were 
moved to express that humility; we are con- 
cerned alone with the fact. 2. They cried 
mightily unto God; that is, they turned to him 
with earnest and hearty prayer. 3. They turned, 
every one, from his evil way, and from the vio- 
lence that was in their hands. I presume we 
could hardly find a better illustration of what 
Christ meant by repentance than that here given. 
Let us notice, then, that in its essence it is a 
mental movement — a turning of the mind to God. 
This is implied in the meaning of the original 
word, translated repentance, namely, change of 
mind. But apart from the examples and expla- 
nations given in the Scriptures, we should not 
know, from the word itself, precisely what 
" change of mind " was signified. The apostle, 
however, helps us onward in the direction of the 
full meaning when he speaks of "repentance 
toward God." The idea evidently is that, ante- 



REPENTANCE. 89 

cedently to repentance, the mind, or the inner 
man, embracing both the intellect and the affec- 
tions, has been looking and moving in the oppo- 
site direction — away from God; and repentance 
is the change of the mind toward God. The 
thoughts turn to him ; the heart becomes inter- 
ested in him, and begins to seek him. It is that 
point in the parable when the prodigal says, " I 
will arise and go to my father." But before 
reaching this point — nay, before he can reach it 
— the prodigal must become very humble. He 
must feel that he has sinned, and gone far away 
from the home and heart of love, and that he is 
no more worthy to be called a son. This is the 
sackcloth of the soul — this '' godly sorrow for 
sin'^ — this feeling which makes the poor man 
still say " Father," while ashamed to call himself 
a "son." 

And let us repeat once more that all this — the 
penitential grief, the humility, the sackcloth, 
the shame, aye, and the good resolution which 
follows — all this is in perfect harmony with the 
nature of the case. There is nothing strained 
here ; no arbitrary appointment ; no foreign re- 
quirement brought in and imposed upon us— 



90 FIRST PRINCIPLES. 

nothing manufactured and introduced to make 
up a "system''; but on the contrary, the All- 
seeing Eye seems to be simply looking on, while 
it points out to us what really is the truth. And 
such indeed is the high proviuce of the divine 
revelation; it is not to make truth, but to make 
it known. 

But there is one other element in repentance. 
The Mnevites " turned, every one, from his evil 
way." It should be observed that, although 
this part of the great change is closely connected 
with what John the Baptist called " fruits meet 
for repentance," it is not, even in thought, to be 
identified with those fruits. Whatever is in- 
volved in " repentance " is complete in concep- 
tion and in fact before it produces any fruits. 
We shall have no difficulty in understanding 
this if we keep clearly before us the definition of 
the word repentance — change of mind; or the 
characterization of it which I have herein ex- 
pressed, as a "mental movement." It is the 
deliberate purpose and the fixed and determined 
resolve to abandon every evil way, which consti- 
tutes "repentance"; while the carrying out of 
this resolution in the subsequent life and con- 



REPENTANCE. ^1 

duct gives the fruits of repentance. We can see, 
therefore, how the people on the day of pente- 
cost could obey the command to repent on the 
"same day ^^ that it was given, and some of 
them at least, from the very necessities of the 
case, in a very short while after it was given. 
There was time enough for the mind to change 
toward God, and resolve upon its new course, 
but not enough for fruit bearing. It is true 
that the act of baptism immediately following 
might in some sense be characterized as a fruit 
of repentance, but it is very clear that such was 
not the meaning that John the Baptist attached 
to the word. 

It remains to say that this final change of 
mind — this resolution to abandon sin — is just as 
indispensably necessary as the previous one. 
Christ did not come to save a man in his sins, 
nor does he offer to do it. Indeed, we do not 
see how he could do it. If salvation means, as 
in its deep and true sense it does, the restoration 
of the lost soul to communion with God, we are 
not to think for a moment that he can have 
fellowship with sin ; and hence, so long as sin is 
retained and cherished in the mind, so long as 



92 FIRST PRINCIPLES. 

we cling to it, and refuse to give it up, we are 
necessarily kept away from God, and debarred 
from salvation. Hence, he commands all men 
everywhere to repent — to cease to do evil, and 
learn to do well — for, ^^As I live," saith the 
Lord God, "I have no pleasure in the death of 
the wicked; but that the wicked turn from his 
way and live" (Ezekiel xxxiii. 11). 

Such, then, is that '^ first principle of the doc- 
trine of Christ" which is called repentance. 
The soul, convicted of sin, humbles itself under 
a deep sense of its unworthiness and guilt, and 
its consequent remoteness from God ; and turn- 
ing with loathing from its evil ways, resolves to 
seek the Lord while he may be found, and to 
call upon him while he is near (for he has come 
near in the person of Christ), and so it moves 
back " toward God." 

But now will it hold out in its purpose, will 
it go on in this right direction, will it continue 
its seeking, till it finds him ! We have yet to 
see whether it will be willing to take the 
^remaining steps which Christ has shown to be 
necessary in order to bring it to God. 



CHAPTER XI. 
THE CONFESSION OF FAITH. 

Hitherto we have traced the career of the 
sinner as though he were isolated and alone 
in the world. His experiences have had no 
bond of connection with his fellow-men. What 
he has felt and done has been wholly without 
reference to them. He heard, believed, suf- 
fered, repented, all for himself, and only for 
himself — all as he would have done if he had 
been the only man upon the earth. And even 
as it was, amid the surroundings of friends and 
companions, who might have been disposed to 
be sympathetic or otherwise, all this work may 
have been going on in secret. The seed sown 
in the soil of the heart was covered up, and 
there in the darkness, all unobserved \)y human 
eye, it has undergone wonderful transformations 
and developments, and now it is ready to spring 
up into the light of day. 

Walking as we have been doing along the 
path of First Principles, and examining them 
one by one, in regular succession^ we have at 

93 



94 FIRST PRINCIPLES. 

length reached the point where a man can no 
longer live only unto himself, where he is 
obliged to bring out and profess, or confess, 
that which is in his heart. It is true that not- 
withstanding this confession may embrace other 
than personal considerations, it does first of all 
inure to his own individual benefit. It brings 
to him a blessing — a blessing which, as with 
the other elements which we have been con- 
sidering, seems to be naturally involved in it. 
This is a point which has not received perhaps 
as much attention as it merits. All these prin- 
ciples are greatly enhanced in interest, and their 
importance becomes far more manifest when we 
are brought to perceive and appreciate that they 
are grounded in the nature of things, and that 
each is perfectly fitted and adapted to accom- 
plish its own special and necessary work. We 
have seen that this is true of all the elements 
which have preceded and led up to the confes- 
sion, and now we come to ask, '^ Why should a 
man confess his faith in Christ?" Certainly it 
is not to let Christ know that he believes, for 
he searches the heart and understands the 
thought afar off. He already knows what is 



THE CONFESSION OF FAITH. 95 

in man, and needs not that any should tell him. 
But in its very nature the confession of faith is 
more or less public ; it is made " before men/' 
and, as the apostle declares, it is " to the glory 
of God the Father." Of course it can add 
nothing to his essential glory, but it extends 
the knowledge of it. The open, public and 
solemn avowal that Jesus who was crucified is 
owned, acknowledged and confessed as God's 
own Son and Lord of all, is really the procla- 
mation of the fact that ^' God so loved the world 
that he gave his only begotten Son" to save it. 
And this is his glory. 

I think it should be more insisted upon and 
emphasized that the confession of Christ as 
Lord is to be made for the sake of others, as 
well as for the benefit of him who makes it. 
But we have so constantly presented and urged 
these latter benefits as the real and only motives 
to confession that we have well nigh lost sight 
of the fact that in truth it is the birthplace of 
the unselfish element in religion; and not simply 
of the unselfish, but of the philanthropic. The 
true confessor has been brought by his faith 
and repentance so near to God that he begins 



96 FIRST PRINCIPLES. 

here to reflect his light and love upon the 
world. And it can not be doubted that every 
time the confession is made its tendency, to say 
the least, is to do good to somebody else, and 
generally it accomplishes this result. We 
should, therefore, more frequently and directly 
address this high principle of unselfish benevo- 
lence, calling it into exercise as the reason and 
motive, or at any rate as one great reason and 
motive, for making the confession. That it will 
react salutarily upon the confessor himself is of 
course true, for '' confession is made unto sal- 
vation''; and this consideration may properly 
be presented in connection. But the time has 
come in the sinner's progress when, if he is to 
be saved, he must not only perceive the love of 
God in the gospel, but he must begin to feel 
and to manifest it in his own heart. And that 
love in its very essence is sacrificial; it is 
poured out for the good of others. Thus the 
confession is lifted from a mere selfish seeking 
of good to a Christ -like impartation of it. 
Thus, too, it ceases to be thought of as only a 
formal prescription in the " appointed order " of 
conversion — as a sort of necessary preliminary 



THE CONFESSION OF FAITR. 97 

to the next succeeding step — and it becomes 
elevated in conception, ennobled, divinized. 

The form of words in which this confession 
may best be made was revealed from Heaven by 
the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ ; and with 
amazing wisdom it concentrates in a single sen- 
tence the whole essence of the gospel. When 
this revelation had been given to the Apostle 
Peter, he uttered it to the Saviour in these 
memorable terms: '^Thou art the Christ, the 
Son of the living God/^ These are pregnant 
words. All the writings of evangelists and 
apostles are but the development and elabora- 
tion of their profound meaning. Nay, they 
reach back into preceding ages, and draw into 
themselves the significance of all revealed type 
and symbol and shadow, together with the es- 
sence of deepest prophetic fore-announcements 
made by men who spake as they were moved 
by the Holy Spirit. 

An intelligent confession made substantially 
in the above stated form of words, and made 
honestly and from the heart, is equivalent to 
the solemn, formal and public declaration that 
the confessor not only reco^rwiseS Jesus 'M^ tlie 



98 FIRST PRINCIPLES, 

offices and character mentioned, but that he 
thus personally and practically accepts him. It 
is the deliberate and voluntary committal of 
himself to Christ — for weal or woe, for cross or 
crown ; and it is the making known of this fact 
to his fellow-men. 

The meaning of the words of [the revealed 
confession is familiar to every one — so familiar 
that only the briefest exposition of it here is 
necessary. All have been taught that the term 
''Christ" is an official designation, and signifies 
that God the Father has anointed the Son to 
fill the three offices whose functions are neces- 
sary to man's salvation. Hence, in confessing 
him to be the " Christ," the confessor accepts 
him in these three official relations. That is to 
say: 

1. As Prophet, or Teacher sent from God. 
He is recognized as being fully competent and 
officially authorized to make known the ways 
of God in truth. The words that he speaks 
are words that were committed to him to speak 
— they are words of God. He says : " I speak 
to the world those things which I have heard 
of him" (John viii. 26) ; " As my Father hath 



THE CONFESSION OF FAITH. 99 

taught me, I speak these things'' (verse 28); 
*^ I speak that which I have seen with my 
Father" (verse 38). "The Father which sent 
me, he gave me a commandment what I should 
say, and what I should speak'' (chap. xii. 49). 
" The words that I speak unto you I speak not 
of myself, but the Father that dwelleth in me, 
he doeth the works" (chap. xiv. 10). 

2. As Priest or High Priest — in which office 
he discharges in very deed and reality the func- 
tions shadowed forth in the Mosaic priesthood. 
With all the deep meaning and object of a true 
sacrifice, he offered himself without spot or blem- 
ish to God. But though he was " slain for us," 
God raised him up to live forevermore, to dis- 
charge in an unchangeable priesthood in heaven 
the office of mediation and intercession. Thus 
while as Prophet he represents God to man, as 
Priest he represents man to God. 

3. As King — having all authority in Heaven 
and on earth, and with the divine right to rule 
and reign over all the sons of men ; to rule not 
simply over them, but in them — their very 
thoughts and affections being rightfully subject 
to his will. 



100 FIRST PRINCIPLES. 

And now, finally, he is worthy to fill these 
high offices, because he is the Son of "the 
living God." His nature, therefore, is God's 
nature. He is "the brightness of his glory, 
and the express image of his person." " In 
him dwelleth all the fullness of the Godhead 
bodily." The confessor, in acknowledging and 
accepting Jesus as the Son of God, will not 
comprehend (for who indeed can comprehend ?) 
the mysteries of the divine nature and of its 
tri-personal manifestations; but he can know 
that in some high sense the Son and the Father 
are one, and that all the love and mercy and 
tenderness displayed in the life and death of 
the Son reveal to us at the same time the heart 
of the Father. And so, believing all this in his 
heart, he comes back as a wandering prodigal 
to confess it with his mouth, well knowing that 
in calling Jesus Christ, who is his brother, the 
Son of the living God, he is really saying and 
feeling that that God is his own Father. And 
now in his rags and poverty, in his sin and 
shame, deeply conscious of all that he has for- 
feited, and deeply sensible of his great unwor- 
thiness, he can only say, as he looks into the 



THE CONFESSION OF FAITH. 101 

benignant face that comes to meet him, 
"Father! — Father, I have sinned against 
Heaven, and in thy sight, and am no more 
worthy to be called thy son.'^ 

This, I think, is the point to which the con- 
fession of Christ "with the mouth '^ brings the 
sinner. He has given up his pride and folly; 
he has abandoned his evil ways; he has changed 
his mind and purpose, and has resolved to turn 
unto the Lord ; and in the furtherance of that 
resolve he has ventured to draw near — but 
still in his guilt and sin — and there in that 
presence he confesses his sin, by confessing his 
faith in Him who alone can forgive it. And 
now the robe and the shoes, the ring and the 
fatted calf— is he willing to receive them? Is 
he willing to humble himself yet farther, that he 
may receive them as a gracious and unmerited 
gift? Is he willing, in short, to receive them 
in the Father's own way ? We shall see. 



CHAPTER XII. 

BAPTISM. 

Disregarding minor differences, the following 
exhibit will show with sufficient fullness the 
present views of religious society on the ques- 
tion of baptism : 

1. That the word, as used by the Saviour in 
the institution of the ordinance, meant immer- 
sion, and only immersion, or some equivalent, 
such as dipping ; and that this original meaning 
of the word must still direct and control us in 
the administration of the ordinance. Without 
exception, so far as I know, those who maintain 
this view also believe that a personal profession 
of faith is a necessary prerequisite to any author- 
ized baptism. 

2. That while the original word is conceded 
to mean immersion, the substance or essence of 
the ordinance is not dependent upon that precise 
action. This view seems to regard the bap- 
tismal formula, or, at any rate, something dis- 
tinct from the act, as the essential thing in bap- 
tism, and that this something, consequently, is 

102 



BAPTISM. 103 

not necessarily bound to immersion. Hence, 
that the sprinkling or pouring of water upon the 
subject, in connection with the baptismal for- 
mula, will accomplish the same end as if the 
subject were immersed in water; that it will 
reach the same object^ though proceeding to it 
by a different road ; and that that object is the 
real and true baptism, as distinguished from the 
mere mode of its administration. Those who 
hold this view also believe that the ordinance 
may rightfully be adoiinistered to infants, espe- 
cially to those of believing parents, or other 
competent sponsors. 

3. That the word as applied to the institution 
of baptism, whatever its signification in the 
classics and in common use, does not properly 
mean immersion at all, but rather purification 
or cleansing; and that, consequently, the action 
of baptism is best indicated by the pouring forth 
of the Holy Spirit upon the apostles, when they 
were baptized upon the day of pentecost. This 
view also contemplates the baptism of infants. 

While I shall not here enter into an elaborate 
discussion of these points, and shall say nothing 
in a controversial spirit, it will be appropriate,' 



104 FIRST PRINCIPLES. 

in the interest of truth, and in view of the great 
importance of the subject, briefly to remark 
upon them. Taking them, then, in reverse order, 
I am obliged to regard the third view as most 
unfortunate; for while its influence upon the 
baptismal controversy is extremely slight, failing 
as it does to command the respect of the most 
eminent scholastic authorities, its advocacy is on 
other grounds to be deeply deplored. For if 
its conclusion respecting baptism is true, it might 
certainly be shown without assuming a position 
which necessarily calls in question and puts in 
doubt the only basis upon which it is possible 
for us to have any trustworthy revelation from 
God. Certainly if the ivords of such revelation 
do not have the significations which were current 
at the time they were used, we have no means of 
getting at their true sense, which is equivalent 
to saying that it can not be to us a revelation. 
I grant that in the argument the assumption is 
limited to the word baptism — that it was not 
used in its current and well-understood sense. 
But if it is legitimate and right to assume this 
with reference to one word, why may we not 
deal in the same way with others? Who is to 



BAPTISM. 105 

prescribe the limit? And by what sign shall 
we ever know, while reading, whether we are 
upon this or that side of the boundary ? 

I may dismiss the position in question with 
the remark that it was not the original basis oi 
the doctrine which it has been brought in to 
support. That doctrine had been long held and 
taught upon other grounds^ and it was only an 
afterthought that suggested this peculiar and 
remarkable interpretation of the Saviour^s word, 
as a means by which the commission could be 
harmonized with the doctrine. 

The second of the views above tabulated is 
not exposed to the same fatal objection. It 
recognizes fully the proper sense of the divine 
word, and frankly avows it. It seeks neither to 
hide it nor to pervert it, but on the contrary it 
openly acknowledges and proclaims it. We are 
obliged to admit, whatever our own views may 
be, that this course is honorable and respectable. 
It places the issue where it legitimately belongs. 
There is no equivocation about the meaning of 
the word baptism. That is a settled thing, 
known and recognized by all genuine scholar- 
ship. It signifies immersion, dipping, plunging; 



106 FIRST PRINCIPLES. 

and it has no secondary meanings which are 
inconsistent with these. And now, after thus 
candidly and fairly conceding the proper sense 
of the wot^d, it submits a proposition respecting 
the thing. It says in effect that that which was 
instituted was not identical with the word which 
created the institution. Of course every one 
perceives that this might have been so. It is 
conceivable. We may join issue at this point, 
and deny that in fact it was so; but we shall 
feel that we are in a Christian atmosphere, 
beyond the region of mere quibbling and equivo- 
cation. We have a distinct issue of fact, and in 
my opinion, so far as the action of baptism is 
concerned, it presents the only ground upon 
which any discussion can be entered upon with 
the likelihood of reaching profitable conclusions. 
It is also encouraging to note that those who 
have presented this issue are, in the main, not 
only gentlemen of lofty character, but of fine 
scholarship. I feel confident, therefore, inas- 
much as I have tried to state their position 
fairly, and to characterize it without terms of 
disparagement, that such objections as I may 
feel constrained to file against it will be consid- 



BAPTISM. 107 

ered in the spirit of dispassionate candor in 
which they are offered. 

1. My first objection to the view as stated 
is that it is not clear. I have sought to present 
it as distinctly as possible ; and I have certainly 
succeeded in making it as plain as its advocates 
have usually done, if not, indeed, much plainer. 
And yet I very much doubt whether the general 
reader will be able, after all, even to conceive of 
baptism apart from its action. I have already 
granted that in some sense it is conceivable; 
but still it must be allowed that the lines sepa- 
rating the act from the institution, the baptizing 
from the baptism, are somewhat blurred and con- 
fused. The conception is thus difficult from 
the fact that the act and the ordinance seem to 
be inseparably blended, so much so that when 
we eliminate the former the latter also disap- 
pears. We can not find it. We can not even 
think of it. When there is no baptizing 
there is no baptism. Hence, whatever men- 
tal discriminations we may make between 
them, we are obliged to view them as a 
unit, having no separate and independent exist- 
ence. 



108 FIRST PRINCIPLES. 

2. But let us suppose the difficulty removed, 
and that in spite of the mist and obscurity 
encompassing the subject, we have succeeded in 
conceiving of baptism as a veritable entity dis- 
tinct from any action, and consequently that 
some action other than immersion may contain 
that entity and bring us the same blessing, we 
are still forced to ask, "What action?'' It 
will hardly be held, I suppose, that any action 
whatever will answer the purpose. There must 
be some reason for giving one the preference 
over others ; some baptismal mark or sign desig- 
nating it as right and proper, and supplying the 
desired assurance that it would serve for bap- 
tism. But in the absence of any definite utter- 
ance of the Scriptures, the determination of the 
question is certainly not without difficulty, while 
it involves a serious responsibility. Conceding, 
as the representatives of the view we are consider- 
ing do, that the Saviour commanded to immerse, 
they can not have failed to give the most pro- 
found and prayerful consideration to the matter 
before deciding upon a substitute action ; and 
among the many possible substitutes, is it by 
any means certain that they have fallen upon 



BAPTISM. 109 

the right ones ? Even admitting, therefore, for 
the sake of the argument, that the essence of 
baptism may be imparted by some other action, 
it does not follow that it could be imparted by 
any other ; and I am free to confess that I know 
of no valid reason designating either sprinkling 
or pouring as having superior claims in this 
regard. 

But not only is the question of the sufficiency 
of the substitute, for baptismal purposes, seen 
thus to be uncertain and doubtful, but a still 
graver doubt arises respecting the authority to 
make any change at all. If Christ nowhere 
authorized even his inspired apostles to do other 
than execute the commission as he gave it, with 
no hint or intimation that he contemplated any 
departure from it or alteration of it, " even to 
the end of the world, '^ can we be certain that 
the church was justified in substituting sprink- 
ling or pouring for immersion, or that he 
approves and sanctions the change? I press 
these questions in no partisan spirit, and with no 
ulterior aims, but because to my mind they are 
serious questions; and they are such as I can 
but ask, when I read the able and scholarly 



110 FIRST PRINCIPLES. 

proofs and candid admissions made by eminent 
Christian teachers, that the word used by the 
Saviour meant immersion, while they yet claim 
that something else is equally valid, authorita- 
tive, and efficacious. 

I have no reason for preferring the first of the 
three views mentioned at the head of this 
chapter, other than its simple and literal con- 
formity to the words of Holy Scripture. If the 
term used by the Saviour in instituting the ordi- 
nance meant immerse, as all competent and 
ingenuous scholarship freely concedes, it is 
certainly safe to retain the practice of immer- 
sion until the same divine authority abrogates 
it, or sets it aside for some other. This avoids 
all the uncertainty and doubt which must neces- 
sarily inhere in the views already considered. 
With this practice it matters not whether bap- 
tism be regarded as a divinely appointed and 
significant act, or as an institution, or as both 
combined in one ; in any case we have the most 
satisfactory assurance that what we administer 
is literally and truly "an ordinance of the New 
Testament," or, as others express it, "a sacra- 
ment of the New Testament, ordained by Jesus 



BAPTISM. Ill 

Christ, not only for the solemn admission of the 
party baptized into the visible Church, but also 
to be unto him a sign and seal of the covenant 
of grace, of his ingrafting into Christ, of regen- 
eration, of remission of sins, and of giving up 
unto God, through Jesus Christ, to walk in new- 
ness of life ; which sacrament is, by Christ's own 
appointment, to be continued in his Church until 
the end of the world '^ (Presbyterian Confession 
of Faith, chapter 28). Certainly, if all or even 
any of this is true, we can not afford to have the 
slightest doubt or uncertainty connected with 
our baptism. We must find that which was 
^' ordained by Jesus Christ,'^ and which, by his 
"own appointment, was to be continued in his 
Church to the end of the world '' ; and we must 
accept it and be thankful for it. 

Reverent, candid and competent scholarship, 
rising above mere party considerations, has, to 
all intents and purposes, settled the first of these 
points, namely, what was '^ordained by Jesus 
Christ"; it was immersion — such being the con- 
ceded meaning of the word which he used. 
And now the only practical question remaining 
is whether this action which he prescribed is to 



112 FIRST PRINCIPLES. 

be ^^ continued in his Church to the end of the 
world." I shall not argue this question, but 
content myself with the expression of the hope 
that if the Churches " standard " is right, it will, 
sooner or later, realize the importance of practi- 
cally conforming to it. 



CHAPTER XIII. 

THE PLACE OF BAPTISM. 

It is impossible for me to know how many 
of my readers may have sympathized with the 
special object which in all the preceding chap- 
ters I have kept constantly in view. Some of 
them, it is probable, have read with feelings of 
disappointment; for while I have not refrained 
from opposing what seemed to me to be error, 
I have not done so in a way that would be 
likely to bring comfort to the mere controver- 
sialist. The antagonism of those with whom I 
differed has not, I trust, been aroused; while 
I have contributed no supplies to the arsenal 
of those who may have agreed with my posi- 
tions. So far from assisting them in any bellig- 
erent conflict, I have not even come upon the 
battle-field. Still, I recognize that there are 
times and circumstances in which controversy 
is demanded. The truth must be urged and 
advocated, whatever conflict it may bring. 
Error must be assailed and driven from its 
strongholds, let the consequences be what they 

113 



114 FIRST PRINCIPLES. 

may. The things which can be shaken must be 
shaken and removed, that those which can not 
be shaken may remain. 

The present state of the religious public 
mind, however, is one which in general calls 
not for war, but for peace. Men are emanci- 
pating themselves more and more from old tra- 
ditional influences, and are becoming able to 
study great cardinal principles such as those 
which I have been discussing with a freedom, 
a candor and an honesty of purpose w^hich in 
other times was not practicable. They are sub- 
stituting investigation for mere advocacy, and 
hence are not seeking, as formerly, simply to 
find props and supports for a preexisting concep- 
jtion. They have discovered that the Bible was 
not written in the interest of their party, and 
they are coming to feel with Tennyson that 

Our little systems have their day — 
They have their day, and cease to be ; 
All are but broken parts of thee, 

And thou, Lord, art more than they. 

It has been my purpose, therefore, to present 
the first principles of the gospel from no parti- 
san angle and in no sectarian light, but simply 
as great vitalizing and organizing elements of 



THE PLACE OF BAPTISM. 115 

the truth; to point out their peculiar and 
gracious adaptations to human wants; to lift 
them, in short, out of the coldness of merely 
intellectual statement, and to exhibit them with 
something of the warmth and freedom of living 
forces. Nor do I believe that any one, however 
well satisfied he may be of their superiority to 
other and rival principles, and however clear 
and full may be his logical comprehension of 
them, can properly appreciate their divine sig- 
nificance and real value until he has removed 
them from the plane of partisan contention into 
the region of life and use. 

I have deemed it necessary to make these 
remarks in connection with the special subject 
which I am now considering, because more than 
any other it has been abused and maltreated. 
Every foot of ground which it covers has been 
fought over, not only once, but again and again. 
These contests have always been warm, and 
sometimes even bitter. Of course, the memory 
of them lingers still, while in many hearts the 
old passions and prejudices are but lightly slum- 
bering. Let us not awake them, but lull them, 
if possible, into deeper sleep. 



116 FIRST PRINCIPLES. 

I should love, if it might be, to forget the 
things that are behind, and to write without 
a moment's consciousness of the bearings of 
what I may say upon any preoccupied position. 
But whether 1 succeed in this or not, in any 
case nothing can deprive me of the comfort of 
knowing that personally I am totally indifferent 
to whatever controversial interests may be in- 
volved. If I can succeed in finding and exhibit- 
ing the doctrine of baptism as it is taught in 
the Holy Scripture, my single aim and object 
will have been reached. I may, therefore, safely 
pretermit any argumentative discussion of the 
question whether infants are proper subjects of 
the ordinance, as the answer will be necessarily 
implied in the statement of what the Scriptures 
really teach. This we shall now seek to ascer- 
tain. 

Recurring once more to the commission, we 
notice that the Saviour required the apostles to 
baptize those whom they " discipled.'' Primar- 
ily the obligations rested upon therriy and then 
of course, as a resulting duty, upon all who 
should subsequently carry on the work of mak- 
ing disciples. Briefly stated, therefore, the obli- 



THE PLACE OF BAPTISM. 117 

gation to baptize rested and still rests upon the 
Church, or people of God. These are the active 
agents, and are responsible to Christ for the 
performance of the duty. The subject of the 
baptism is passive. Of course he must volun- 
tarily act in coming to the Church and placing 
himself in her hands. This, however, is not 
baptism ; and having done this, he becomes 
simply passive, and submits to be baptized. As 
an inducement to this coming and this submis- 
sion, the Church is required to teach him that 
"he that believeth and is baptized shall be 
saved." 

The word baptism, as we have already seen, 
means in the commission immersion, or, as else- 
where explained in the Scripture, a "going 
down into the water,'' as the necessary prelimi- 
nary to a burial in it, followed immediately by 
a resurrection out of it. The word dipping 
covers the whole of this double action; that is, 
the putting under and the lifting out, or the 
burial and the resurrection. The mere force of 
the word does not embrace the element in which 
the baptism is to take place. We might, for 
example, dip in oil or wine, or any yielding 



118 FIRST PRINCIPLES. 

substance ; but we learn from numerous passages 
in the Scriptures that the element must be 
water. Thus expanded, the meaning of the 
Saviour's requirement, expressed in the simplest 
terms — the meaning of the obligation which he 
laid upon his people — was this: ''Make disciples 
of all the nations, dipping them in water, into 
the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of 
the Holy Spirit.'' 

I enter no further into the question, already 
briefly considered, whether some other actiou 
will answer as well as dipping, or whether the 
whole Church, or any part of it, would have the 
right and authority to change the only action in 
an ordinance which her Lord commanded her 
to keep. These are serious and solemn ques- 
tions which she must answer for herself in view 
of her responsibility to God. What she teaches 
on the subject, through her authorized and ac- 
credited ministry, her converts will receive as 
baptism. As she alone is active, while they are 
passive, it could hardly be otherwise. What- 
ever errors may be committed under such cir- 
cumstances, we can not doubt that the Righteous 
Judge will attach the responsibility where it 



THE PLACE OF BAPTISM. 119 

properly belongs; and we surely believe that 
the unlearned and ignorant, who could not 
know his will, and who were obedient in heart 
and intention, will not be punished with many 
stripes. 

We may safely conclude, from all that has 
gone before, that what the Saviour originally 
designed — disregarding here all questions of 
changes and of authority for such changes — 
what he ordained, and required his Church to 
observe, was the immersion of believers into 
the holy name of Father, Son and Spirit. 

We proceed, therefore, to consider next the 
place which this divine institution fills as one 
of the elements or first principles of the gospel ; 
for while it might be taken for granted that it 
was ordained in the interest of the sinner, it will 
be well for us if we can see in what way it re- 
sponds to his condition, and contributes to his 
spiritual comfort and salvation. 

Let it be remembered, then, that we have 
traced his progress step by step up to this point. 
We have seen that his feelings of alienation and 
enmity were overcome by the preaching of the 
gospel, with its amazing demonstrations of 



120 FIRST PRINCIPLES. 

divine benevolence and love ; that in conse- 
quence of believing this he became deeply an^l 
painfully sensible of the sinfulness of his previ- 
ous life of unbelief; that under the influence of 
such feelings he repented towards God, changed 
his mind and purpose, and resolved to seek him, 
and, if possible, to get back into friendly rela- 
tions with him; and that in the execution of 
this purpose he came out publicly and confessed 
with his mouth the faith that was in his heart, 
to wit, that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of the 
living God. Thus he is brought before the face 
of his Father, humbly confessing his sin and 
shame, and pleading for favor and forgiveness. 
We may know the heart of that Father, but as 
yet he can not. He must still feel that his own 
unworthiness will in some way be taken into 
the account, and prevent his perfect restoration. 
His heart can only say : '^ Father, I have sinned 
against heaven, and in thy sight, and am no 
more worthy to be called thy son." It is true 
he does not now suggest the servant's place, as 
he thought he would before he came, but still 
his conscience tells him he has forfeited that of 
a son. And so, hesitating and trembling, he 



THE PLACE OF BAPTISM. 121 

can but stand and wait for the decision of his 
case. Nor has he to wait long. The Father 
looks upon him with eyes of compassion. His 
full heart overflows with its love. He speaks, 
but as yet not to the prodigal sinner, but to his 
servants — to his Church : *^ Bring forth the best 
robe, and put it on him ; and put a ring on his 
hand, and shoes on his feet." Do for him all 
that love itself can do, for he is my son: he was 
dead, and is alive again: he was lost, and is 
found. 

And now, in obedience to this commandment, 
the Church, by her authorized servant, takes 
the trembling sinner, whose condition the Great 
Teacher so beautifully portrays, and leads him 
down into the water — going with him into it — 
and there, amid the solemn hush of the world, 
and while the prayers of pious hearts are going 
up like incense to God, she solemnly and au- 
thoritatively baptizes him into the name of the 
Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit 
— and the work is done ! Reconciliation is 
complete. The soul has come back to God; 
nay, it has come into God, for it has come into 
his name, which is himself — himself^ truly, but 



122 FIRST PRINCIPLES. 

not in the awfulness of his absolute Being, nor 
yet as manifested in the lightnings and thunders 
of Sinai, but in his tri-personal and most gra- 
cious manifestations as he is revealed in Christ. 
It has been evident, from the time the sinner 
was first brought to believe the gospel, that 
what he consciously needed and most earnestly 
sought was to be restored to proper relations 
with God. Every step in his progress, "from 
darkness to light, and from the power of Satan 
to God,'^ has had reference to such restoration. 
The significance and value of baptism lie in the 
fact that it is the final step in this progress — the 
end of the souFs journey from darkness to light. 
Here, where God has recorded his name, he 
meets with the lost sinner, and blesses him — 
blesses him with the personal assurance that he 
is welcomed back ; that the past is all forgotten ; 
and that the present is only joy and rejoicing. 
Thus baptism, rightly administered to a properly 
prepared subject — the baptism which is from 
God — is the consummation or final completion 
of the process of conversion, where man is 
brought practically into right relations with 
God ; where he begins to live with him and for 



THE PLACE OF BAPTISM. 123 

him in a " newness of life/' in which his daily 
communion is with the Father, and with his 
Son, Jesus Christ, through the gracious aid of 
the ever-present and Holy Spirit. 



CHAPTER XIV. 
RESULTS OF BAPTISM. 

The teaching of the Scriptures on the subject 
now to be considered is very plain. In the 
early ages of the Church, when this teaching was 
simply accepted and rested in as truth, there 
seems to have been no difficulty in perfectly 
understanding it. The common people, as well 
as the more erudite and gifted, were all of one 
mind respecting it. The Saviour and his apos- 
tles had distinctly, and in quite unambiguous 
language, declared what were the results or con- 
sequents of baptism, and during all the purest 
doctrinal period of the Church's history no seri- 
ous question was raised. The matter had been 
settled by authority, and nothing more was to 
be said. 

But, unhappily, with the coming in of ques- 
tions respecting the proper subjects of baptism, 
it was impossible to avoid a corresponding con- 
sideration of its objects. Whatever might be the 
consequents resulting to a penitent believer, 
baptized upon his own voluntary profession of 

124 



RESULTS OF BAPTISM. 125 

faith, it might well be doubted whether the 
same consequents would or could result to a 
baptized infant. As the infant was without 
volition or faith, without actual sin or repent- 
ance, men could hardly fail to ask whether it 
was in such spiritual and mental condition as 
made it possible for it to receive the peculiar 
blessings attributed to a believer's baptism. 
The ordinance did not seem to respond in the 
same way to anything in the infantas case. It 
satisfied no longing, it imparted no comfort, it 
brought no joy ; and so far from being the con- 
summation of a spiritual process, the final step 
in a progressive movement toward God, it was 
not even the conscious beginning of such move- 
ment. It is not surprising, therefore, that to 
many thoughtful persons the baptism of infants 
seemed to be revolutionary; that it transposed 
and reversed all the settled meanings of the 
ordinance; or else that it set these aside, and 
substituted others for them. The inevitable 
result was controversy, prolonged and earnest; 
and this in its progress led to the introduction 
of metaphysical views upon the effects of bap- 
tism, some contending that in and of itself it 



126 FIRST PRINCIPLES. 

exerted a regenerative influence ; that the uncon- 
scious soul of the infant was quickened by bap- 
tism into spiritual life, and made thus a child of 
God ; consequently that it received, by anticipa- 
tion, the titles to the whole baptismal estate, 
which was in after years to be possessed and 
enjoyed. Others, not venturing to pronounce 
definitely upon the direct and immediate effect 
upon the spiritual nature of the infant, and hesi- 
tating to attribute a life-giving power to the 
ordinance, were content to rely upon it as pro- 
ducing simply a change of relations — that it 
introduced the child into the family and king- 
dom of God. 

Those who opposed the above positions were 
not always discreet or wise. In many cases 
their minds appear to have been confused and 
agitated. The doctrine of baptismal regenera- 
tion seemed to them to be so seriously errone- 
ous that to avoid it and get as far as possible 
from any complication or fellowship with it, 
they went to the opposite extreme, not only 
antagonizing baptismal regeneration, but re- 
nouncing and disclaiming all those blessed 
effects which the Scriptures do certainly and 



RESULTS OF BAPTISM. 127 

most clearly attribute to the baptism of believ- 
ers. It came to be regarded, therefore, as 
merely an outward and formal initiation into the 
Church ; to be scrupulously observed because it 
was commanded, but only because it was com- 
manded. The great reasons of Divine Love 
which led to the giving of the commandment — 
reasons which are most clearly seen in the conse- 
quences which the Scriptures attribute to bap- 
tism — these, if not overlooked, were sought for 
as blessings through a different channel. It was 
even esteemed meritorious, and a mark of the 
most perfect soundness of doctrine, to discount 
and depreciate the ordinance in every respect, 
except as a legal requirement. It was not " for 
the remission of sins," it was not an '^ ingrafting 
into Christ," it was not a " putting on of 
Christ/^ it had nothing to do with " salvation." 
All that was really good in Christianity must be 
reached before coming to it. 

Amid such a contrariety of views prevailing 
even now in religious society, I can but feel that 
what I may say will be liable to misconstruction. 
And it will certainly be misunderstood if it be 
viewed from any other angle than the one which 



128 FIRST PRINCIPLES. 

I myself occupy. Let me emphasize the fact, 
then, that the results which I shall attribute to 
baptism appertain only to such a subject of the 
ordinance as I have already, in previous chap- 
ters, so fully described. 

As taught by our Lord when he instituted the 
ordinance, the objects which were to be attained 
by its observance seem to be left in no uncer- 
tainty. In part, they are stated expressly in 
words of clearest import : '' He that belie veth 
and is baptized shall be saved '^ ; and if any one, 
after comparing the different versions of the 
commission, can suppose that Luke's ^^ remission 
of sins" does not contemplate the baptism dis- 
tinctly mentioned in Matthew and Mark, he 
must at least perceive that such remission is 
necessarily implied in the baptismal formula. 
This involves, indeed, not only remission of 
sins, but every blessing which the hungry soul 
hopes to find in God. He is the "Fount of 
every l)lessing " — he, and not baptism, nor any 
thing that we can do, nor any state of mind into 
which we may enter. " Praise God, from whom 
all blessings flow." If, therefore, there is any 
meaning in this baptismal formula; if it is not 



EESULTS OF BAPTISM: 129 

altogether delusive ; if what it plainly expresses 
is the truth, then it is evident that in some 
sacred and most important sense the man who is 
truly prepared for the ordinance is "baptized 
into Christ," is baptized " into the name of the 
Father, and of the Sou, and of the Holy Spirit." 
Now, if we can believe that this is the simple 
truth — that the baptism of a proper subject actu- 
ally accomplishes this result — we can have no 
further trouble or mental disturbance respecting 
it. We shall no longer realize the need of any 
nice distinctions and learned criticisms to deter- 
mine the exact meaning of the preposition in 
the phrase ''for the remission of sins" (Acts ii. 
38), because, if this blessing comes from God, 
we shall know that it is to be found in him, and 
that it will be found when we are introduced 
into him. No metaphysical exegesis can make 
us doubt this evident truth ; and no human con- 
ception of the ordinance, in whatever interest it 
may be cherished, can make us believe that, as 
Christ gave it, there is really no good in it. 
Surely we can not be translated into the very 
fullness of the Divine Love, and into the most 
sacred relations of the Divine Nature, and find 



130 FIRST PRINCIPLES. 

nothing in that Fountain and Source of " every 
good and perfect gift^^ — nothing but the con- 
sciousness that we have complied with the terms 
of a mere external formality. The subject is 
lifted above the plane of profitless logomachy, 
and of doubtful interpretations, and becomes at 
once simplified and luminous, while all the 
numerous declarations of the inspired Script- 
ures respecting it are accepted in their plain 
and obvious sense as the very truth of God. 
When we read, for example, such texts as the 
following : 

" Repent and be baptized for the remission of 
sins, and ye shall receive the gift of the Holy 
Spirit" (Actsii. 38). 

"He that believeth and is baptized shall be 
saved" (Mark xvi. 16). 

"Arise and be baptized and wash away thy 
sins, calling upon the name of the Lord " (Acts 
xxii. 16). 

" Know ye not, that so many of you as were 
baptized into Jesus Christ, were baptized into 
his death?" (Rom. vi. 3). 

"As many of you as were baptized into Jesus 
Christ, have put on Christ " (Gal. iii. 27). 



BESULTS OF BAPTISM: 131 

"Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a 
new creature : old things are passed away ; be- 
hold, all things are become new^^ (II. Cor. 
V. 17). 

" Christ also loved the Church, and gave him- 
self for it ; that he might sanctify and cleanse it 
with the washing of water by the word '' (Eph. 
V. 25, 26). 

"And ye are complete in him, who is the 
head of all principality and power; in whom 
also ye are circumcised with the circumcision 
made without hands, in putting off the body of 
the sins of the flesh by the circumcision of 
Christ; buried with him in baptism, wherein 
also ye are risen with him through the faith of 
the operation of God, who hath raised him from 
the dead" (Col. ii. 10-12). 

*' According to his mercy he saved us, by the 
washing of regeneration, and renewing of the 
Holy Spirit" (Titus iii. 5). 

"The like figure whereunto even baptism 
dotb also now save us (not the putting away of 
the filth of the flesh, but the answer of a good 
conscience towards God) by the resurrection of 
Jesus Christ" (I. Pet. iii. 21). 



132 FIRST PRINCIPLES. 

I say, when we read such texts as these, they 
are seen at once to harmonize with the expecta- 
tion produced by the baptismal formula, and we 
have only to accept them with grateful hearts, 
and be satisfied. Surely no candid mind, free 
from bias and prejudice, can read the above 
quoted Scriptures without perceiving that the 
Holy Spirit recognized the very richest of spirit- 
ual blessings — remission of sins, washing away 
of sins, newness of life, the gift of the Spirit, 
sanctification, union with Christ, salvation — as 
being immediately consequent upon baptism. 
And let us hope that the day has passed, or, at 
any rate, that it is rapidly passing, when any 
one can believe that these consequents are 
caused or produced by baptism ; that is, by any 
force or influence inhering in the act itself. 
Baptism is but a step or passage-way leading on 
to the results — is but the boundary line, beyond 
which lie the blessings. But being the last 
step, and consequently the one which actually 
carries us across the boundary, men have not 
unnaturally attributed to the step itself the vir- 
tues to which it brings us. They have ascribed 
to the path the salutary efficacy of the Fountain 



RESULTS OF BAPTISM. 133 

to which it leads, and have even claimed this 
efficacy for subjects which, from the very nature 
of the case, were unable to drink of this Foun- 
tain. Others, antagonizing this view, and seeing 
clearty that the step was not the source of the 
blessing, have strongly insisted that there was 
no necessity to take the step. 

All this confusion is avoided by simply recog- 
nizing the fact, so clearly implied in Scripture, 
that the value of baptism is not to be estimated 
by anything in the mere act itself, but by the 
object to which it introduces us. There is no 
remission of sins, no pardon, no salvation, in 
baptism alone, however and to whomever ad- 
ministered; if God be not in it, it is nothing 
more than an empty and meaningless ceremony. 
But as he has appointed to meet with the re- 
turning sinner in that ordinance, and then and 
there to receive him back into his favor and 
fellowship, forgiving him for all the past, and 
strengthening him for all the future, I do not 
see why it should be thought a thing incredible 
with any one that God should forgive the man's 
sins, and do it in his own way ! Of course the 
baptism can not wash away sins, but Jesus 



134 FIRST PRINCIPLES. 

Christ can do it in baptism, if we come to it 
according to his own appointment, that we may 
surely find him there. He sanctifies and cleanses 
by the bath of water by the word. Of his 
mercy he saved us by the washing of regenera- 
tion and renewing of the Holy Spirit. It is all 
of him, and that is just the reason why we must 
be baptized into him, and thus put him on. 

We may not know the reasons moving the 
Divine Mind to appoint this particular ordi- 
nance as the meeting place — the place where 
God and the repentant believer actually come 
together, and where the reconciliation between 
them becomes a practical fact ; where they enter 
into new covenant relations — the one party 
pledging forgiveness and mercy and everlasting 
love ; and the other, faithful, devoted and loving 
service; but we can readily understand that 
something of the sort was needed to give com- 
fort and assurance to the sinner; and to supply 
this need, the Infinite "Wisdom commanded to 
immerse him in water — into the Holy Name. 
Without this, a man might think himself ac- 
cepted and pardoned — for aught I know he 
might be so ; but to remove all his doubts and 



RESULTS OF BAPTISM. 135 

fears, and to give to him individually the au- 
thoritative assurance demanded by his heart, 
God receives him in this ordinance, and speaks 
to him, and owns him as his son. He clothes 
him here with the robe of his love, the best 
robe; he kills for him the fatted calf; he takes 
him into his own house and home, and they 
live and feast and rejoice together. Love's re- 
deeming work is done; God and man are recon- 
ciled. 



CHAPTER XV. 

THE WHOLE SUBJECT EXEMPLIFIED. 

I have sought to bring out, and to exhibit 
somewhat in detail, " the word of the beginning 
of Christ," or the elements of salvation as taught 
in the Great Commission. No attempt has been 
made to treat the subject exhaustively. And if 
I have succeeded in setting forth these First 
Principles distinctly, and in their own clear light, 
showing their adaptation to the ends contem- 
plated by them, and their mode of operation in 
reaching those ends, I may well leave the reader 
to survey, with more leisure and deeper thought, 
the whole ground which I have thus outlined. 
Lest, however, any should still be disposed to 
question the correctness of my interpretation of 
the commission, I deem it proper, before pro- 
ceeding to consider its closing requirement, to 
ask how the apostles and primitive Christians 
understood it. Did their practice correspond 
in all essential particulars with the views which 
I have enunciated? They went forth to exe- 
cute the very commission upon which I have 

136 



THE SUBJECT EXEMPLIFIED. 137 

been commenting, and what they did and said 
in the performance of this duty is upon record ; 
or, at any rate, such specimens of their acts as 
were selected by the Holy Spirit to be written 
for our learning ; and this record, consequently, 
will show how men who were supernaturally 
preserved from mistake understood it. As, 
therefore, this commission is the one under 
which we are acting, and the only one which 
furnishes any divine authority for our action, 
the propriety of the above inquiry is manifest. 
I had occasion, while discussing the subject 
of " conviction," to refer to the Apostle Peter's 
first discourse in Jerusalem, and to point out its 
immediate effect. But the reader will do well 
to study all the occurrences of that day with 
care. He will find that first of all the apostle 
preaches the gospel of Christ ; that in doing so 
he presents the two leading facts in his history 
— his death and his resurrection; that he and 
his fellow apostles bear witness to these facts, as 
does also the Holy Spirit; and that this testi- 
mony is confirmed by showing its manifest 
agreement with the predictions of inspired 
prophets. It will furthermore be seen that, as 



138 FIRST PRINCIPLES. 

the result of all this, a great multitude of his 
hearers were convicted of sin — a consciousness 
which could only have arisen in consequence of 
believing what had been preached. It will be 
observed that this effect was produced by the 
Holy Spirit, who was in the apostles, but not as 
yet in the hearers ; and that it was produced by 
means of the word of truth which he spoke 
through the apostles — they serving as his organs 
of commuuication. So far, all is plain matter- 
of-fact, and my statement of it is manifestly 
correct. Its agreement, up to this point, with 
my previous argument is equally evident. 
When the convicted sinners asked what they 
were to do — meaning, as a matter of course, 
what they were to do to be saved, for they 
could have no other motive in putting the ques- 
tion — the apostle tells them to repent and be 
baptized. The only point which might here 
seem to diverge from my position is the fact 
that no mention is made of the confession of 
faith, which, it will be remembered, I located 
between repentance and baptism. But as such 
confession is elsewhere clearly taught as one of 
the elements of salvation (see Rom. x. 9), its 



THE SUBJECT EXEMPLIFIED. 139 

mere omission from the record in this place does 
not argue its absence in fact. Indeed, faith 
itself is not mentioned here, though, of course, 
it is necessarily implied. The confession is nec- 
essary, not only for the reasons stated in my 
chapter upon it, but also to make known to the 
Church the existence of faith and repentance in 
him who makes it, thus giving evidence that he 
is a proper subject for the ordinance. We may 
safely conclude, therefore, that the three thou- 
sand confessed the Lord Jesus with the mouth, 
and thus made it manifest to the apostles that 
they " gladly received '^ their word ; and there- 
upon they were baptized. 

As to the results which were to follow this 
baptism, the apostle specifies only two — "the 
remission of sins '' and " the gift of the Holy 
Spirit." But these two involve and imply 
every good thing which Love itself could pro- 
vide and impart. If God gives himself^ as 
personated by his Spirit, nothing else can be 
withheld ; if he receives the baptized into com- 
munion and fellowship and friendship with him- 
self — with himself as Father, Son and Spirit — 
he must receive him as pardoned, justified, sane- 



140 FIRST PRINCIPLES. 

tijiedj reconciled J elected , redeemed, and saved. 
For surely from the Divine Heart of love, from 
this boundless Store -house of grace, no real 
blessing can be absent! 

I neither say nor suppose that the returned 
sinner is able at once to appropriate all this in 
conscious enjoyment. But these blessings are 
his. They are freely given to him. And he 
takes hold of them little by little, and drinks 
them in more and more, as he daily " grows in 
grace and in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus 
Christ." 

It seems to me, therefore, that the first au- 
thoritative exemplification of the true meaning 
of the commission is precisely in accord with 
the exposition which I have sought to give of 
it. And it should be noted that, for the very 
reason doubtless that it is the first, it is more 
elaborately detailed, and its elements more spe- 
cifically stated, than most others. 

For instance, in the third chapter of Acts, 
Peter preaches to the people after healing the 
lame man, substantially as he had done in the 
second — the same gospel, the same Christ, the 
same facts, the same testimonies; but when he 



THE SUBJECT EXEMPLIFIED. 141 

comes to give them directions what they are to 
do to be saved (verse 19), he uses the generic 
word "turn/' or "turn again/' where he had 
formerly used a specific. The authorized ver- 
sion of this text is exceedingly inaccurate and 
misleading, and so I quote it from the Eevised 
Version : " Repent ye therefore, and turn again, 
that your sins may be blotted out, that so there 
may come seasons of refreshing from the pres- 
ence of the Lord." It will be noted here that, 
as in the previous case, instead of enjoining 
faith and telling them that they must exercise 
it, or seek to procure it from Heaven as the 
direct gift of God, he simply goes to work, by 
the direct presentation of testimonies, to produce 
it; and having done so, he is satisfied with it. 
He requires nothing more in the way of faith, 
and nothing different from this simple belief of 
the truth. It had risen normally and naturally, 
as the result of considering and weighing the 
testimonies — ^of hearing the word of God. That 
was all there was of it; but that was enough. 
It was true faith, for it accredited, believed and 
received what God taught. But if they thus 
believed what he said, the apostle must instruct 



142 FIRST PRINCIPLES. 

them in the duties and privileges consequent 
upon such faith, and so he proceeds to say, 
"Repent ye therefore, and turn again." 

Surely no reverent person can suppose that 
by the phrase "turn again'' he means to set 
aside any of the conditions of salvation men- 
tioned in the commission, and to substitute 
something else in their place. The supposition 
would do dishonor to the apostle's faithfulness, 
and discredit to his authority. We must believe 
on the contrary that, as he had no right, so he 
had no disposition to depart from his Master's 
instructions. Nor did he do so in fact. Those 
addressed were not to be deprived of the privi- 
lege of being " baptized into Christ. " If they 
did not know, from having heard the previous 
discourse, or having seen the three thousand 
baptized, or some of the numerous other in- 
stances exhibited every day in the city (for "the 
Lord added to them day by day those that 
were being saved ") — I say if they did not know 
that this specific act was involved in the more 
general word "turn again," we can not doubt 
that he would have explained it to them when 
they resolved to "turn.'' Similar variations in 



THE SUBJECT EXEMPLIFIED. 143 

mere phraseology are usual with all speakers; 
and to candid hearers, seeking simply to know 
the truth, they are neither misleading, nor of 
uncertain meaning. In this case the very gen- 
erality of the word "turn" would have led 
those who desired to obey it to ask, if they did 
not already know what it involved. The text, 
therefore, can not be understood to teach a dif- 
ferent doctrine, but only the same doctrine in 
different terms. As for the results or conse- 
quents of this "turniog again" these, too, are 
the same that were promised in the first dis- 
course, but also differently expressed. We have 
here " blotted out " instead of " remission " of 
sins, and " seasons of refreshing from the pres- 
ence of the Lord," for "the gift of the Holy 
Spirit." 

Other cases recorded in the Book of Acts 
exhibit slight variations in phraseology, but the 
most notable feature is the omission from the 
record of now one and now another of the essen- 
tial elements of the saving truth. But we may 
not conclude that these were absent in fact 
simply because in the summarized report they 
are not mentioned in detail. For example ; In 



14$ FIRST PRINCIPLES. 

the salvation of the Samaritans and of the Ethi- 
opian eunuch (Acts viii.) nothing is said of their 
repentance, nor, especially in case of the former, 
of confession; and yet we must believe that 
they did repent, and that with the mouth they 
did make confession unto salvation. In the 
conversion of Saul of Tarsus, the only element 
expressly recorded is his baptism ; but how truly 
each of the others was present is evidenced by 
the genuineness and thoroughness of the change 
wrought in him. It is obvious to remark that 
in his case there was an immediate and super- 
natural visitation, wholly exceptional in its 
character, which puts it to this extent outside 
the sphere of our present investigation. But it 
will be observed that, notwithstanding the mi- 
raculous appearance to him of the glorified 
Lord, he had still to comply with the terms of 
the commission, in order to wash away his sins 
(Acts xxii. 26). 

The case of Cornelius (Acts x.) was also, for 
reasons which are obvious, exceptional in sev- 
eral particulars, especially in the angelic visita- 
tion, and in the outpouring of the Holy Spirit 
before his baptism. This was God's way of 



THE SUBJECT EXEMPLIFIED. 145 

signifying to Peter, not that Cornelius did not 
need baptism, but that, Gentile though he was, 
it was not to be withheld from him. And who 
was Peter that he should withstand God? 
Again we see that, notwithstanding the miracu- 
lous visitation, the commission must still be 
observed ; nay, in this case the miraculous gift 
was bestowed only that it might be observed. 

Yet once more: In Antioch the preachers 
"spake unto the Greeks, preaching the Lord 
Jesus. And the hand of the Lord was with 
them : and a great number that believed turned 
unto the Lord^^ (Acts xi. 21). It will be re- 
membered that in the third chapter the hearers 
were told to " repent and turn," and here they 
are reported to have " believed and turned." 
In the case of Lydia, "whose heart the Lord 
opened, to give heed to the things spoken by 
Paul," it is immediately added: "And when 
she was baptized, and her household, she be- 
sought us, saying, If ye have judged me to be. 
faithful to the Lord, come into my house, and 
abide there" (Acts xvi. 14, 15). The conver- 
sion of the jailer, reported in the same chapter, 
shows (1) that Paul told him to believe; (2) 



146 FIRST PRINCIPLES. 

that he spake the word of the Lord to him, with 
all that were in his house, that they might be- 
lieve ; and (3) that he was baptized, he and all 
his, immediately. Of Crispus, the ruler of the 
synagogue in Corinth, we are told, in the histor- 
ical account, only of his belief, that "he be- 
lieved in the Lord with all his house ; '* and 
yet, in the epistle to the Corinthians, the apostle 
makes known that he himself baptized him (see 
I. Cor. i. 14). We thus learn that, though the 
fact was not reported in detail, his case did not 
differ from that of the others, of whom we are 
told that "many of the Corinthians hearing, 
believed, and were baptized" (Acts xviii. 8). 

And so we learn the principle that prevailed 
in recording the numerous examples of conver- 
sion ; that the writer did not deem it necessary 
to give a tabulated statement in every individ- 
ual case of the elements of salvation which were 
present and operative; that he sometimes gen- 
eralizes them by using terms that involve them ; 
and that in mentioning only one or more of 
these elements we are to understand, not the 
exclusion, but the implication of the others. 
All this is so obviously true, and so entirely 



THE SUBJECT EXEMPLIFIED. 147 

free from even a shade of difficulty, to any 
honest and unbiased inquirer who is simply 
seeking to ascertain what God's word really 
teaches, that however the facts stated may have 
been abused in the interest of party, I need not 
dwell longer upon them. Suffice it to say that 
the inspired record furnishes abundant and con- 
clusive evidence that the apostles and primitive 
Christians understood the commission in the 
plain and ordinary sense of its terms, substan- 
tially as I have presented it. And although 
they might upon occasion vary the expression 
of them, and although one or more might be 
omitted here or there in the reports of cases — 
as something well understood and to be taken 
for granted — still we can not doubt that in very 
deed they uniformly inculcated and observed 
each and all of those First Principles of the 
gospel which constituted then, as they do now, 
the germ and essence of the Christian religion. 



CHAPTER Xyi. 

PRACTICAL TEACHING. 

I trust it has been made sufficiently manifest 
that the man who cordially and practically ac- 
cepts the elementary principles of the gospel is 
led by them into new and blessed relations with 
God. He becomes a member of his Church, a 
subject of his kingdom, a child in his family. 
Old things are passed away, and behold, all 
things have become new. Of course he must 
needs enter upon this new life and into these 
new relations without any experience to guide 
him. Every tiling is strange and unusual, and 
he is very ignorant. He knows not what to 
do. He realizes that for the mercy extended to 
him he is under weighty and solemn obliga- 
tions, but he can not tell how he is to discharge 
those obligations. He would fain walk con- 
sistently with the profession which he has made, 
and the covenant into which he has entered, 
but the way is not clear before him, and it 
seems beset with difficulty. It is not easy for 
any one to lead a Christian life in an un-Chris- 

148 



PRACTICAL TEACHING. 149 

tian world, and especially for one who has but 
just renounced that world. 

To meet this condition, and furnish help here 
where it is most needed, the Saviour directs his 
apostles — and of course also the Church — first 
of all to instruct those made disciples by them, 
" teaching them to observe all things whatsoever 
I commanded you." Of course the word means, 
primarily, to impart knowledge, to give 'informa- 
tion; and for the young disciple this is felt to 
be the most pressing need. But in the connec- 
tion in which it occurs above, it seems also to 
imply the idea of training — teaching them not 
only what I commanded you, but to observe it, 
and how to observe it. And this is a very large 
lesson; it is '^ all things whatsoever I commanded 
you." The whole of the epistolary writings, as 
well as the words of Christ in the gospels, may 
be regarded as bearing upon this part of the 
commission, and as showing the length and 
breadth of a clause which covers the whole 
Christian life, and all Christian lives. I can 
take no part here in the element of " training," 
if such be involved, as I think, in the word 
"teaching." It is to be done chiefly by example 



150 FIBST PPINCIPLES. 

and close persoDal contact ; by the manifestation 
of friendly interest, and by the stimulus of judi- 
cious encouragement and timely assistance. But 
in the matter of primary religious instruction, I 
may hope to contribute a few suggestions that 
shall serve as a fitting conclusion to the present 
series. 

To one, then, who has complied with the con- 
ditions of salvation known as '* first principles," 
and who has just entered upon the life into 
which they have introduced him, I would make 
these friendly recommendations: 

1. Try to realize the new relations into which 
you have entered. Your baptism, preceded as it 
was by those preparations so clearly taught in 
the Scriptures, has brought you in fact into 
fellowship with the personal God. He has be- 
come to you in truth a loving and gracious 
Father, whose redeeming and merciful Son is 
your Elder Brother, and whose sanctifying 
Spirit is your ever-present Helper and Com- 
forter. But do not be disturbed if you fail to 
realize in your own heart a consciousness of the 
divine presence. God is very wise, as well as 
very gracious, and he will not permit you to 



PRACTICAL TEACHING. 151 

lose yourself even in him. What you need is 
not the excitement of over- wrought feelingy but 
the firm recognition and assured belief of the 
divinely attested fact. God is to you all that 
I have said ; and what I mean by realizing it, 
is for you to accept and appropriate to yourself, 
and rest in, this truth as an undoubted certainty. 
Thus it will enter more and more into your 
daily life, and will gradually mold your charac- 
ter and sweeten your experience, until you come 
to think of him always as being near and gra- 
cious, as being in you, and over you, and for^you. 
2. Recognize heartily and fully the obligations 
of the new life. As a Christian, redeemed by 
the Lord, you belong to him: "You are not 
your own, you are bought with a price." In 
coming to him, and voluntarily entering into 
his kingdom, you have acknowledged his right 
to reign over you and in you, and that it is 
your duty to do and to be what he requires. 
Now let the sense of this obligation rest upon 
you. Keep it in mind and in heart, and resolve 
to accept and to act upon it without any mental 
reservation whatever. All the sweetness of the 
Christian life^ if not indeed its acceptability, will 



152 FIRST PRINCIPLES. 

be lost by half-hearted ness. It is only when we 
bravely, cheerfully and without reserve recog- 
nize and take hold of the duties incumbent 
upon us that the performance of them is pleas- 
ant and profitable. But when we do, the " yoke 
is easy" indeed, and the "burden is light." 

3. Fi7id rest for your soul. You do not wish 
to live, and you do not need to live, a disturbed, 
agitated, doubtful sort of life. Seek, and you 
shall find that restful, peaceful state which is 
troubled by no fears as to your present accept- 
ance or future salvation. It is found only in 
Christ. "Come unto me" he says, "and you 
shall find rest." The man that is faithfully and 
lovingly trying to do his duty, however short 
he may come of the perfect standard, may and 
should repose his soul upon God in humble but 
confident trust ; and in doing so, the very peace 
of God, which passeth all understanding, will 
be given to him. 

4. Study to learn what the Lord will have you 
to do. The apostle, in one of those beautiful 
summaries of truth, of which we have so many 
examples in his epistles, presents this subject 
in a way that may well give direction to our 



PRACTICAL TEACHING. 153 

studies. He says : " For the grace of God hath 
appeared, bringing salvation to all men, instruct- 
ing us, to the intent that, denying ungodliness 
and worldly lusts, we should live soberly and 
righteously and godly in this present world.'* 
Let us pause here for a little while and notice 
in detail what is embraced in this divine in- 
struction. 

(a) Our duties to ourselves. These begin with 
self-denial. The Saviour had taught this lesson 
long before : " If any man will come after me, 
let him deny himself." We can not read such 
passages without recognizing that there is some- 
thing in our human nature which powerfully 
incites us to go astray — something which causes 
evil and wrong to seem attractive and desirable. 
They are not repulsive to us. We are not 
shocked at the thought of them, but on the 
contrary we feel drawn towards them. We 
clothe them with qualities which do not belong 
to them, and then we say that they are good for 
us — things to be desired, and properly desired. 
Thus we are tempted, and the very self enters 
into the temptation. We are drawn away by 
our own lust and enticed. It hence becomes 



154 FIRST PRINCIPLES. 

necessary for a man to recognize an authority 
above himself, and to obey it, even when its 
voice is contrary to the inclinations of self. 
This is self-denial — the refusal to gratify the 
desire for the pleasures of ungodliness and 
worldly lusts, however strong that desire, and 
however urgent and pressing the solicitation. 
Whatever, therefore, is wrong in itself — wrong 
as judged by the perfect standard of right which 
has been given us ; whatever is injurious to our 
higher interest, whether it be essentially wrong 
or not; and whatever excess even in necessary 
things would be hurtful — these mark and define 
the boundaries within which we must carefully 
keep ourselves. This course is further indicated 
by saying that we should " live soberly " ; that 
is, with masterful self-control. The higher 
nature, the spiritual part of our being, is to take 
the lower in hand, bring it into subjection and 
hold it down. It must be kept under. This, of 
course, will require great watchfulness, and the 
enthronement in the heart of lofty principles. 
And thus, though it will not be easy, by the 
help of God it will be possible to " stand in the 
evil day." 



PRACTICAL TEACHING. 155 

(b) Our duties to others. The Scriptures rep- 
resent these obligations as debts — debts which 
are to be discharged, because the creditors, 
though they may not know it, have a right to 
the payment of them. Hence, in the text be- 
fore us, this class of duties is indicated by the 
phrase " live righteously." Of course the term 
"righteously'' means more than this, involving, 
as it does, all the elements of upright and irre- 
proachable personal character and conduct, but 
it certainly includes love and duty to the neigh- 
bor as among the essentials of such character. 
If the apostle felt himself to be " debtor " to all 
men, it was only because he had received from 
God light and truth and blessings which all 
men needed, and which he, who is " no respecter 
of persons,'* had given to him for the benefit of 
all men. If God loves our neighbors as he loves 
us, we are to love them as we love ourselves. 
As, therefore, we have opportunity, we are to do 
^good unto all men ; and we are to owe no man 
anything but love, which from its very nature 
is the one debt that can never be fully paid. 

(c) Our duties to God. Of course all that we 
do from high religious motives, whether the acts 



156 FIRST PRINCIPLES. 

terminate immediately upon ourselves or others, 
has reference to God, and honors him. We do 
it for his sake ; do it in obedience to him, and 
because we believe and love him. But apart 
from these there are many things which look 
and point directly to him, such as adoration, 
praise, worship, thanksgiving — involving that 
whole circle of thoughts and feelings which 
bring us in communion with him. In a word, 
to " live godly '' is to walk and work and " en- 
dure, as seeing him who is invisible."J 

But I can not pretend, in one brief chapter, 
to cover the ground embraced by the New Life. 
Suffice it to say that from its first breath upon 
earth to its final glorification in Heaven, we are 
unable, by our own wisdom and strength, to 
perform any of its duties, or to appreciate and 
improve any of its privileges ; and, therefore, 
we must daily look and pray to Him from whom 
all blessings flow. There is no such possil)ility 
as leading a Christian life without prayer to 
God and loving communion with him. We 
need him every hour — in joy and grief, in 
plenty and in want, in sickness and in health, 
at home and abroad, in the world and in the 



PRACTICAL TEACHING. 157 

Church — ^he is our refuge and strength, our pro- 
tector and guide, our life and salvation. Let 
us pray to him without ceasing, and in every- 
thing give thanks. 

Such, in brief, is the new life into which we 
are introduced by our baptism of faith and re- 
pentance. It may lead us through struggle and 
trial, sometimes into clouds and darkness, and 
we may go down into deep waters, but he will 
be with us; and beyond — beyond the river's 
brink, it brings us to everlasting life and ever- 
lasting love! 



Goii^a oi^T 



TO 



PERFECTIOIS^. 



GOrN"G ON" TO 

FERFEOTIOI:^. 



CHAPTEE I. 

NEWNESS OF LIFE. 

THE elementary principles of the gospel of 
Christ comprehend whatever is involved in 
that change of state and relations known as con- 
version. They embrace the whole process, from 
the beginning to the final putting on of Christ 
in baptism. And now the apostle teaches 
(Rom. vi. 4) that we are raised up from this 
baptism to walk in newness of life. Much has 
been said — perhaps most of it with but little 
practical utility — respecting the precise stage in 
the antecedent process in which this life was 
generated, and exactly what influence produced 
the result, and in what way it operated. It is 
certainly interesting to think upon these points, 



162 PERFECTION. 

and to compare the various Scriptures relating 
to them; but unless some obstructive error 
makes it necessary to discuss them, it will be 
quite sufficient for us to know that at the end 
of the elementary process we first begin to 
" walk in newness of life." Whether the grand 
result was brought to pass by the Holy Spirit, 
by the gospel of Christ, by Christian baptism, 
or by the concurrence of them all, together with 
the responsive cooperation of him who was the 
subject of the change, are questions whose con- 
sideration here is not demanded. Suffice it to 
say, that whoever has cordially and practically 
embraced the first principles of the gospel, and 
who has come thus into fellowship with the 
Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit, is a ^^ new 
creature; old things are passed away; behold, 
all things are become new" (II. Cor. v. 17). 

And now, how to make the most of this new 
life which we have acquired; how to develop 
and mature it, notwithstanding its union with 
our animal nature, and its exposure to trials and 
dangers; in short, how we may, in spite of ob- 
stacles and difficulties, go on to perfection — 
this is the subject upon which I hope to be 



NEWNESS OF LIFE. 163 

able to prepare a number of articles, which I 
trust may be helpful to earnest and aspiring 
Christians. The subordinate subjects to be con- 
sidered under the leading title will not in gen- 
eral have any logical sequence or dependence, 
but each will be complete in itself, and will be 
presented as an aspect or element of the main 
theme. I can not, of course, say whether I 
shall be able to handle the subject to the satis- 
faction of those who are seeking ''a closer walk 
with God " ; and the only assurance which I can 
give in advance is that for many years my best 
thoughts and feelings have lingered lovingly 
around it. 

It will be helpful to us, let me say in the 
beginning, to give emphasis in our reflections 
to the newness of this life. It is somewhat diffi- 
cult fully to realize this, from the fact that we 
are living in the same old world, in the same 
homes, mingling with the same people, engaged 
in the same callings, and in many respects 
we find ourselves the same. We have the same 
natural wants and animal passions that we had 
before. Our individuality has not been set 
aside — we feel that we are the same persons, and 



164 PERFECTION, 

we are. And yet with all this old, which neces- 
sarily remaius with us, there is something essen- 
tially new. Perhaps in every case the first 
thing of this sort which is present to our con- 
sciousness is a certain peculiar feeling, which we 
may call joy, or peace, or gladness. It is that 
sweet serenity and comfort of mind which re- 
sults from the assurance of forgiveness and 
acceptance with God. It is what the hymn 

calls 

" The new-born joy of sins forgiven." 

And certainly any one who has experienced the 
effect of that work of the Spirit which is called 
conviction of sin ; who has realized that he was 
alienated from God; that he was dead and lost; 
and who, filled with godly sorrow, has turned 
with penitent confession and humble submission 
to his Father, must rejoice to find how cordially 
he was welcomed back, and how freely and fully 
he was pardoned. 

Then, of course, the relations which the con- 
verted sinner sustains to Christ are radically 
new. He has put him on ; has become a mem- 
ber of his body; his loyal, loving and devoted 
subject. He haa voluntarily enlisted in his 



NEWNE&S OF LIFE. 165 

service, and has consecrated to him all his 
powers of mind and heart, of soul and body. 

He has, too, entered into new relations with 
the people of God. They have become his 
brethren, and are to be treated with all brotherly 
kindness and helpful sympathy. They may be 
weak and frail and fallible; may have their 
faults and shortcomings ; may be poor and igno- 
rant and rude; but whatever they are, and 
whatever they do, he still feels a brother's in- 
terest in them, and he sits down to the table 
and eats and drinks with them, and with Christ. 

It will be well, also, for him to realize that 
his relations to the world have been changed. 
"While he is still in it, he is not of it, and is 
no longer to be conformed to it. For wise 
purposes of discipline and development, the 
heavenly Father leaves his children to struggle 
against the spirit and temper of the world — to 
live exposed to its temptations and allurements 
— in order to cultivate in them a truer and 
manlier virtue than would otherwise be pos- 
sible. At the same time he warns us against 
its dangers, e.^pecially teaching that our hearts 
are not to be given to it, and assuring us that 



166 PERFECTION. 

if we are born of him we shall be able by his 
grace to overcome it. This, of course, will re- 
quire much thoughtful care and watchfulness, 
and much self-denial and prayer. 

In short, the dominant purpose, the whole 
end and aim of a Christian's existence, is radi- 
cally new. He is in a new kingdom, a new 
world, under a new government. He has 
turned round. The very direction in which 
his life moves is changed. He has begun to 
struggle upward, which is Godward; and he 
feels that the deep meaning of his existence, 
here in the wonderful complexity of Providence 
and grace, of tribulation and trial, and blessed 
help, is that he may attain unto the heights 
to which God has called him, that he may be- 
come ennobled and sanctified here, and glorified 
hereafter. 

Having considered thus the newness of it, we 
should bear in mind at the same time that it is 
life — life from God. Nay, it is eternal life, 
germinal as yet and undeveloped, but still with 
the attributes of the divine life. " He that be- 
lieveth on the Son hath everlasting life" (John 
iii. 36, v. 24). This results from the fact that 



NEWNESS OF LIFE. 167 

we are God^s children — begotten of God ; born 
again, and from above; born of water and of 
the Spirit. Our conversion was no merely out- 
ward conformity to a prescription; it was a 
coming to God, who is the Source of all life; 
it was the acceptance from him of the gift of his 
Spirit to dwell in our hearts ; it was the entrance 
into tbe Lord Jesus Christ, "who is our life'^; 
and so we came into fellowship and communion 
with the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. 
Truly this .is " newness of life. " 

And now, in concluding this preliminary 
chapter in which we are outlining, but in no 
very definite way, the course that we are to pur- 
sue, let us call up before us the duty and privi- 
lege of walking in this new life. This is one of 
the terms used in the Bible to express a pre- 
determined and continuous course of conduct. 
It implies that we are going somewhere, and 
that we are taking the necessary steps to lead us 
there. Elsewhere it is called a "journey,'^ a 
"pilgrimage.^' We are to recognize the fact 
that we are only passing through the world; 
that we do not live here ; that it is not home ; 
and that if we settle down and identify ourselves 



168 PERFECTION, 

with it, we shall fail to reach our true destina- 
tion. Our watchword must be "Onward, ever 
onward ! ^' 

Walking seems to be a favorite figure with 
the apostles, and they have connected with it 
many wholesome instructions. For example : 

" We walk by faith, not by sight." 

"We are his workmanship, created in Jesus 
Christ unto good works, which God hath before 
ordained that we should walk in them." 

" I beseech you that ye walk worthy of the 
vocation wherewith ye are called." 

"Brethren, mark them that walk so as ye 
have us for an example." 

"That ye might walk worthy of the Lord 
unto all pleasing." 

"That ye may walk honestly towards them 
that are without." 

"I rejoiced greatly that I found of thy chil- 
dren walking in truth, as we have received a 
commandment from the Father." 

" I have no greater joy than to hear that my 
children walk in truth." 

And so we might quote "walk in love," 
"walk in Christ," "walk in wisdom toward 



NEWNESS OF LIFE. 169 

them that are without/' and numerons others; 
but the foregoing will suffice to show us what 
the Holy Spirit would have us understand by 
'' walking in newness of life/' It means that 
we are to walk m faith, in good works, in truth, 
in love, in honesty and wisdom, in the light, in 
Christ. Such a walk will be worthy of our high 
calling, and will conduct us on, step by step, 
towards perfection. 

This is the ideal Christian life. We are not 
likely to realize it all at once. We may some- 
times blunder and stumble and fall; but, by the 
grace of God, we can get up and try again. 
Our very failures, when we are honestly endeav- 
oring to do right, will help us to better success 
afterwards. They will disclose to us the weak 
places in our character ; they will make us 
more watchful and guardful ; and especially will 
they lead and call us to look unto Him who is 
the Source of all strength and help, and to cry, 
not simply in the music of song, but in the 
sweeter melody of the heart : 

Nearer, my God, to thee; 
Nearer to thee ! 



CHAPTER II. 
THE GOAL. 

I rejoice to believe that there are many who, 
like myself, are dissatisfied with their present 
attainments, and who would fain realize their 
own ideals of mature and lofty Christian char- 
acter. It speaks well for our ministers and 
church officials that they have excited a desire 
so deep-seated and widespread to become and 
to accomplish all that the Great Teacher and 
Helper has made possible. 

From the general title which I have given to 
these chapters, it will be seen that the object 
contemplated is Perfection. And while we can 
but feel that this goal is far distant, that the 
journey to it is long and difficult — aye, and 
hazardous, too — still we may find comfort and 
encouragement in the other terms of our title — 
Going On. We are not expected to be perfect 
in the beginning of our Christian career, nor 
yet in the second, nor the third, nor perhaps in 
any subsequent stage of it ; it will suffice if we 
are moving forwardj always in that direction — 

170 



THE GOAL. 171 

going on to, that is, towards perfection. And I 
must think that our heavenly Father bestows 
special honor upon us in calling and inciting 
us to aim at this, and to strive and labor for it, 
with good hope of ultimate success. It shows 
that he has made us capable of becoming very 
great and noble, of reaching even the highest 
glory, and of living with all lofty intelligences, 
and with himself in friendship and fellowship 
forever. But "he knoweth our frame; he re- 
membereth that we are dust^^; and I am per- 
suaded that he requires of us only the earnest 
and patient effort, without expecting anything 
beyond our ability. Many of my readers may 
be capable of being and doing very much more 
than I, and yet I feel sure that he will be satis- 
fied with me if I do my little best. They may 
seem to be, and really may be, much nearer the 
goal than I; and yet if I keep faithfully plod- 
ding on, with sure and well directed steps, 
though slow, I shall as certainly gain the prize 
as those who appear to be outstripping me in 
the race. 

The term perfection, it should be remarked, 
when predicated of human beings, is used in a 



172 PERFECTION. 

relative sense. We can not in this world be de- 
veloped into complete likeness ; and even when 
we get to Heaven, and enter consciously into 
fellowship with the great company of the "spirits 
of just men made perfect," we shall all be dif- 
ferent — no two of us, I presume, will be alike — 
and yet we shall all be perfect. Moses and 
Elijah, on the mount of transfiguration, were 
readily distinguished from each other; but both 
"appeared in glory.'^ Indeed, I am glad to 
think that Heaven is not peopled by persons 
all of whom have been cast in the same mould, 
even though it be a perfect mould. The apos- 
tle^s aim was to " present every man perfect in 
Christ Jesus '' — every man, with all his individ- 
uality, and even it may be his idiosyncracies, 
but still every man 'perfect. 

This consideration, if duly weighed, should 
yield abundant encouragement. We look 
around upon holy men and women of our ac- 
quaintance, who have developed elements of 
character that we greatly admire, and which, 
alas! seem beyond our attainment, and we feel 
like saying: " If that is necessary to perfection, 
we shall never reach it, and may as well give 



THE GOAL. 173 

over/' But has it occurred to us that what 
was necessary to their perfection may not be 
necessary to oursf We have, perhaps, only 
two talents, and they had five to start with. 
It was meet that with more they should do 
more than we. God has not made many Flor- 
ence Nightingales or Frances Willards, but he 
has put myriads of blessed women into the 
sweet homes of this earth, every one of whom 
can be as perfect in her sphere as these her 
more distinguished sisters, and every one of 
whom may be greeted at last with as cordial a 
"Well done, good and faithful servant." We 
all start out in this life different; and very 
soon this difference is magnified. In temper, 
in taste, in capacity, in opportunity, we are in- 
dividualized. In many respects — nay, in most 
respects — we are necessarily alone in this vast 
universe. Even those most intimately associa- 
ted have their reserves, their sacred arcana, 
their uncommunicated selfhood. And now the 
object which the heavenly Father sets before 
us is for every man to make the best of this 
individual self. We can not be Pauls or Johns. 
No human being could now be a Luther, or an 



174 perfection: 

Alexander Campbell. A reduplication of these 
characters is not needed by the world or the 
Church. What is wanted, and this is possible, 
is for every man, whatever his sphere in life, 
whatever his gifts or graces, whatever his pecu- 
liarities in disposition or circumstance, to make 
the best of himself that he can. In doing this, 
he will not be like anybody else — his character 
will not be an imitation nor a sham, but an 
honest development of all the good that God 
put into him; and so he will come forth at last, 
and live to all eternity in his own grand and 
distinctive individuality — a perfect man in 
Christ Jesus. 

This fact that God has made no two of us 
alike, and that, consequently, our proper devel- 
opment can not result in sameness, is important 
in its bearings upon Christian freedom. The 
failure to consider this has often led even good 
men into very serious mistakes. Their own re- 
ligious clothes, if I may so say, fit them so nicely 
and well, and they feel so easy and comfortable 
in them, they conclude that they have found 
exactly the right pattern for all clothes. And 
not only so, but they are also quite sure that 



THE GOAL. 175 

if this is the right pattern, any variation from 
it is wrong ; and so they insist upon arraying 
the tall and the short, the fat and the lean, the 
big and the little, in garments of precisely the 
same cut! To the extent of their success in 
this well-meant but foolish design, the result is 
grotesque and ludicrous. Men and women ap- 
pear in habiliments which are fearfully and won- 
derfully made — habiliments which, in nearly all 
cases, are too tight or too loose, too long or too 
short, which sit awry and hang badly ; and, 
however excellent the material, they are posi- 
tively ugly, simply because they do not fit the 
persons upon whom they are imposed, and who 
are forced to wear them. 

It is needless to say that, of course, there is 
one great model of moral character to which 
every one must seek to conform his life. If 
we have habits, tastes, inclinations, tendencies 
which are contrary to the perfect standard of 
right, we may not plead the existence of these 
things as an excuse for their indulgence. They 
simply show that we have gone astray — that we 
are out of the right road; and every step which 
we may take in this direction is a step away 



ItQ PERFECTION. 

from perfection, rather than towards it. We 
may as well set down as an indubitable fact that 
we shall never reach our true goal without the 
most sedulous care and the most diligent watch- 
fulness. There is much within us that calls 
for correction — strong passions which must be 
bridled and subdued; unlawful desires which 
plead powerfully for indulgence; habits of heed- 
lessness, of hastiness of speech, of impatience, 
and of uncharitable judgments. And then 
there is that large catalogue of Christian vir- 
tues and graces which are to be nourished and 
brought to maturity. But the what and the 
how as to many of these things will be con- 
sidered more in extenso as we proceed. My 
special purpose at present is to encourage all 
who earnestly desire to perfect themselves in 
grace and goodness, by the assurance 'that their 
object is attainable, not in the sense of absolute, 
but in that of relative perfection. I feel sure 
that every one who deliberately and steadily 
sets his head and heart to it, and who is willing 
to use the means and to make the sacrifices de- 
manded by such. an object, can attain to a full, 
well developed, well rounded, and thoroughly 



THE GOAL. 177 

established Christian character, which I suppose 
is what is meant by the phrase, '' The stature of 
2i perfect man in Christ Jesus/' Though he may 
never in this world, owing to the weakness and 
frailty of his earthly nature, and to the un- 
friendliness of his environment, reach the goal 
of absolute sinlessness, he can feel and realize 
that in his inmost soul, and in the honest in- 
tegrity of his heart, he is really devoted to all 
that is true and beautiful and good, while he 
loathes and hates every mean and evil way. 
Such a man may fill a very humble sphere in 
this life; he may be ignorant of the world's 
knowledge, and pass his days in poverty and 
obscurity; but if he has attained to a truly 
rounded character, if his affections are centered 
in Christ, and his whole life completely circled 
about him, his perfection is equal to that of the 
greatest and noblest and best. A small circle is 
as perfect as a large one. 



CHAPTER III. 
THE LAW WITHIN. 

The prediction concerning the new covenant, 
recorded in Jeremiah xxxi. 31-34, is so impor- 
tant in its bearings upon the object which we 
have in view that, although the passage is very- 
familiar, I beg to quote it in full : 

" Behold the days come, saith the Lord, that 
I will make a new covenant with the house of 
Israel, and with the house of Judah; not ac- 
cording to the covenant which I made with 
their fathers in the day that I took them by 
the hand to bring them out of the land of 
Egypt; which my^ covenant they brake, although 
I was an husband unto them, saith the Loid; 
but this shall be the covenant that I will make 
with the house of Israel: After those days, 
saith the Lord, I will put my law in their in- 
ward parts, and write it in their hearts; and 
will be their God, and they shall be my people. 
And they shall teach no more every man his 
neighbor, and every man his brother, saying, 
Know the Lord; for they shall all know me, 

178 



THE LAW WITHIN, 179 

from the least of them unto the greatest of 
them, saith the Lord; for I will forgive their 
iniquity, and I will remember their sin no 
more/' 

Every clause in this prophecy is worthy of 
serious meditation, and if it were germain to 
our immediate purpose, the whole prediction 
might be profitably analyzed and discussed. I 
have introduced it here, however, mainly to 
call attention to its leading promise : " I will 
put my law in their inward parts, and write it 
in their hearts.'^ This is one of those " better 
promises " mentioned by the author of Hebrews 
when he says of Christ that " he is the mediator 
of a better covenant, which was established 
upon better promises" (Heb. viii. 6). Doubt- 
less, too, it was in the mind of the Apostle 
Peter when he spoke of the "exceeding great 
and precious promises'' given unto us — promises 
which enable us to be "partakers of the divine 
nature" (II. Pet. i. 4). In view, therefore, of 
the heights to which this covenant is designed 
to lead us, we are not suprised to find it spoken 
of not as a modification or emendation of the 
old, but in contrast with it. It is new ; it is 



180 PERFECTION. 

not " according '^ to the old ; it is not like it ; 
it is essentially and radically different. And 
the root of this difference — that out of wliich 
the other differentiae spring and grow — is the 
fact, already stated, that the law of the Lord is 
put in the inward parts, and written in the 
heart. We are to understand, consequently, 
that this is contemplated as one of the distinc- 
tive peculiarities and essential characteristics of 
the Christian religion. It may and must, as a 
matter of course, have its externals. In order 
to its propagation and conservation, it must be 
exhibited and maintained as an institution, hav- 
ing all needful organs, forms and ceremonies. 
The revelation of God's law and truth was also 
wisely given us, first of all, in an outward and 
visible form. He did not choose to fill us 
immediately with his divine light, thus making 
us a law unto ourselves; he provided rather for 
our growth — that we should gradually attain 
unto the stature of perfect men in Christ Jesus. 
It is probable that angels, owing to the excel- 
lency of their character, and the perfection of 
their relations to God, may receive from him 
directly a fullness of knowledge of which we 



THE LAW WITHIN. 181 

can have no adequate conception. But for 
creatures such as we are, imperfect, weak and 
sinful, and subject to daily trials and manifold 
temptations, our educational and disciplinary 
wants require something different. It was the 
Evil One who tempted our first parents to seek 
immediate knowledge — to " become as gods, 
knowing good and evil;^^ but it is far better 
for us to reach the heights of attainable knowl- 
edge through faith — faith in a distinct and out- 
ward Divine Person, and in his audible and 
written communications. Thus is maintained 
that feeling of dependence so appropriate to our 
low estate and condition, while little by little 
we grow into godlikeness. This, as I under- 
stand it, is the underlying, or, rather, the per- 
vading principle of that new covenant promise 
which we now have in mind. It does not 
mean, I suppose, that we can ever in this life 
cut loose from the outward letter and become 
independent of it ; we are to study it ; to medi- 
tate upon it ; to drink it in ; and so to transfer 
it more and more from the outer form to the 
inner life, and thus to change it, so to speak, 
from 'better '* into "spirit." 



182 PERFECTION. 

It will be perceived, therefore, that, in think- 
iog of the fulfillment of this "better promise," 
we should by no means entertain a mechanical 
conception of it. What the Lord does in the 
case is not a transaction, but a process; not 
something done and completed once for all, but 
a continuing and progressive work. The divine 
will and the revealed truth are gradually in- 
stilled by him more and more into our hearts, 
as we become better and better prepared to 
receive them. The heart is the proper place 
for his word, and it Is there that he is seeking 
to "put" it and to "write" it; but the heart 
is the center of spiritual life, and his work, 
therefore, can proceed only in harmony with 
our own living processes as manifested in suc- 
cessive stages of development and growth. It 
was not by accident, therefore, that the apostle 
conjoined the growth in grace and in knowl- 
edge. The two will always be in proportion 
and concurrence. 

I beg only to add that the final completion of 
the process which God is carrying on within 
us, and always with our cooperation, will be 
that very "perfection" towards which, I trust. 



THE LAW WITHIN. 183 

we are all actively moving. When the new 
covenant promise shall have been fulfilled in 
us — when God's igracious purpose shall have 
been thoroughly accomplished — we shall need 
nothing more. In heart and life and purpose 
we shall be at one with him ; the very fountain 
of our being will be pure and good, and we 
shall "stand perfect and fully assured in all 
the will of God'' (Col. iv. 12). 

I have consumed so much time in seeking to 
excite the reader's interest in the subject, and 
to set forth its supreme and vital importance, 
that I have not reserved to myself sufficient 
space in which to discuss, with proper discrimi- 
nation and care, certain practical phases and 
details, which in any case would merit a sepa- 
rate chapter. Postponing, therefore, the con- 
sideration of these, it will suffice here to invoke 
the reader's own calm and thoughtful medita- 
tion upon the whole subject. And let me say 
that it would be well for us to realize that we 
are here on holy ground ; that we are drawing 
very near to God; that we are entering into 
the very secret of his counsels, and becoming 
acquainted with his purposes. Let us remem- 



184 PERFECTION, 

ber also that these purposes have reference to 
us, and that he is seeking to accomplish them 
in us and for us. We are parties to this Great 
Covenant, and it can not be executed without 
us. We must concur and cooperate with God; 
and in order to do this we must seek to understand 
his purpose, and to appreciate its deep signifi- 
cance and vast importance. But if our hearts 
and sympathies and aspirations are right — if we 
really desire to please him, and to be co-workers 
with him — we may confidently rely, whatever 
our shortcomings, upon his long suffering pa- 
tience; for he is slow to anger, and plenteous 
in mercy. 



CHAPTER IV. 
LETTER AND SPIRIT. 

If my purpose extended no further than the 
development of a good moral character, I should 
not deem it necessary to dwell upon a subject 
which, though not essentially difficult, is of 
course less simple in its nature than would be 
the statement and illustration of mere precepts. 
But I earnestly desire to lead my readers and 
to bring myself into a better appreciation and 
fuller enjoyment of the true Christian life. 
And hence I venture to hope that those who 
are disposed to go with me will be willing to 
linger yet longer upon a subject which lies at 
the very foundation of all genuine progress. 

It is familiar to every one how earnestly and 
constantly the Saviour labored to inculcate and 
enforce the very truth which we are seeking to 
realize. His contemporaries, with hardly an 
exception, had lost sight of it; and even his 
chosen apostles, brought up as they had been 
under the influence of mere externalism, were 
exceedingly dull of hearing, and slow to under- 

186 



l^t> PERFECTION. 

stand. But, happily for us, the very grossness 
of messianic hopes and expectations which he 
encountered led the Great Teacher to a fullness 
of deliverance and a wealth of illustration which 
make our studies comparatively easy. 

" The kingdom of heaven/^ he says, " cometh 
not with observation." It is not an outward 
and visible thing. It does not consist of forms 
and ceremonies. These may gather about it, 
and may have more or less intimate and impor- 
tant connection with it, but tliey are not the 
thing itself. The true, vital, heavenly kingdom 
" is within you." Its territory is the soul ; its 
throne is in the heart ; and there its King lives 
and rules and reigns. 

Again, he says that this kingdom is "like 
leaven which a woman took and hid in three 
measures of meal, till the whole was leavened." 
Now it matters not what view we may take of 
the merely circumstantial phrases of this instruc- 
tive parable. We may or may not attribute 
special significance to such words as " woman," 
"took," or "three measures," but in any case 
the essential meaning can not be mistaken. 
The vital and vitalizing principle, represented 



LETTER AND SPIRIT. 187 

by the term "leaven/' is hidden away out of 
sight in the human heart; and it works there 
in secret. At once this suggests to us the new 
covenant : " I will put my law in their inward 
parts, and write it in their hearts." 

In like manner, the parable of the sower, 
that of the mustard seed, and the others relating 
to seeds and sowings, all proclaim this same 
truth. And surely no one can read the Sermon 
on the Mount without perceiving how Christ 
glorifies the law by lifting it out of the rigidity 
of mere letter, and presenting it as a free and 
living principle. Nay, his own commandments 
come to us not as fixed and inflexible precepts, 
to be observed in simple punctilio, but rather 
as blessed and luminous instructions, addressed 
to the spirit of love, which is open and waiting 
to receive them. Here, as elsewhere, he opened 
his mouth and taught them. He was the great 
Teacher sent from God. And this is the char- 
acterizing idea of the whole New Testament; 
it is above all things else a book of religious 
and spiritual instruction. Its lessons may be 
exhibited in mandatory and prohibitory forms 
among others, but still for the true Christian 



188 PERFECTION. 

they are simply lessons. He is not under law ; 
his life is not to be regulated by rule and meas- 
ure. The kingdom of Heaven, which is within 
him, is not a matter of prescriptions; it is right- 
eousness, and peace, and joy in the Holy Spirit. 

When the apostle presents, as he does in his 
masterly way, the contrast between the two 
covenants or ^^ testaments," what he says is 
worthy of careful notice. Let me quote his 
language from the Revised Version : " But our 
sufficiency is from God ; who also made us suffi- 
cient as ministers of a new covenant; not of 
the letter, but of the spirit; for the letter 
killeth, but the spirit giveth life. But if the 
ministration of death, written and engraved on 
stones, came with glory, so that the children of 
Israel could not look steadfastly upon the face 
of Moses for the glory of his face; which glory 
was passing 'away : how shall not rather the 
ministration of the spirit be with glory?" 
(II. Cor. iii. 6-8). 

Now it should be observed that the apostle 
does not limit the application of the term " let- 
ter" to the ten commandments engraven on 
stones, though he illustrates his meaning by 



LETTER AND SPIRIT. 1S9 

such reference; for in truth the whole of the 
Mosiac law and ritual was letter. Nor should 
we understand that the covenant of spirit is 
confined to New Testament commandments. 
On the contrary, it embraces every line and 
word in the whole Book. It is all of the spirit 
— every commandment, precept, prohibition, in- 
junction is to be kept in its principle and spirit, 
and not necessarily in its letter. Very often, to 
be sure, the letter and the spirit will coincide, 
but not always. For example, the spirit of the 
commandment addressed by the Saviour to the 
rich young man is deeply instructive and most 
important ; its letter, regarded as a general pre- 
cept, would be unwise and really impracticable. 
We can hardly conceive of a proceeding more 
injurious to the highest interests of the Church 
and of society than for all Christians to sell 
what they have and give it to the poor. But 
how prone we are to rest in mere words! 
Many persons read the passage lately quoted, 
" not of the letter, but of the spirit ; '' make a 
careless application of it to the ten command- 
ments; declare, of course, that the new cove- 
nant is 710^ of letter, because the apostle says so, 



190 PERFECTION. 

and immediately proceed to convert it all into 
letter, and to put themselves, and try to put 
everybody else, under it as letter ! But in truth 
the same apostles teaches us that "we should 
se/'i'e in newness of spirit, and not in the oldness 
of the letter" (Rom. vii. 6). There is no lim- 
itation nor exception here. The whole round 
of duties, the entire range of obligation, what- 
ever is embraced in our Christian service — all of 
it is to be, positively, in newness of spirit, and, 
negatively, not in the oldness of the letter. We 
read that the Jews were ^^ under tutors and gov- 
ernors" until the fullness of time, and were in 
bondage under the elements of the world till 
Christ redeemed them, that they might receive 
the adoption of sons. But the apostle does not 
speak of this tutorship and governorship and 
this bondage as something to be desired, but as 
something from which it was a mercy to be res- 
cued. Still, for those of my readers who may 
be as yet only "babes in Christ," a little kindly 
"tutoring" and "governing" may be very help- 
ful. The restraining and guiding influence of 
experienced and wise pnstors, and of other able 
and discreet Christians, is needful for the young 



LETTER AND SPIRIT. 191 

and immature, and should be yielded to with 
cheerfulness and gratitude. But surely those 
who are of full age, and whose senses have been 
exercised to discern both good and evil; those 
who have been brought into loving sympathy 
with God, and into cordial devotion to his will, 
should be able to " serve '^ him " in newness of 
spirit. '^ Such can but feel that the rules and 
regulations, the demands and prescriptions of 
legalizers and literalists — assuming to control 
and direct the details of their conduct — are an 
impertinence and a hindrance; that they fetter 
the freedom of the soul, and interfere with its 
normal expansion and religious comfort. There 
is no joy and no good in constrained service. 

I trust it will not be overlooked that I am 
writing for those who are Christians; not for 
hypocrites, nor formalists, nor cold, carnal, 
worldly ^^ professors^' — nor yet for mere moral- 
ists who expect to get to Heaven by observances, 
and who have not taken heed to " beware of the 
leaven of the Pharisees '^ ; who think, perchance, 
that the absence of a gold chain will commend 
them to God, and that sin lieth at the door of 
costly apparel. Some of these characters may 



192 PERFECTION. 

need a medicine which it is not my purpose to 
administer. My single aim and object is to aid 
those who are seeking to develop their true 
religious life; those who love God and his 
people and his word, and who are really and 
heartily seeking and trying to be right and to 
do right. Such persons may be safely turned 
loose with God. He is enthroned in their 
hearts, and his law is warmed and cherished 
in their inward parts. They do not need rules ; 
they are principled against wrong, and in favor 
of the right; and principles make their own 
rules. But we do need — we all need— instruc- 
tion in divine things; more of heavenly light, 
more of experimental knowledge, a deeper in- 
sight into God's character, and a deeper con- 
secration to his service. 



CHAPTER V. 
THE HIGHER LAW. 

The apostle, after saying to Timothy, " As I 
exhorted thee to tarry at Ephesus, when I was 
going into Macedonia, that thou naightest charge 
certain men not to teach a different doctrine, 
neither to give heed to fables and endless gene- 
alogies, the which minister questionings, rather 
than a dispensation of God which is in faith," 
immediately adds : " But the end of the charge 
is love out of a pure heart and a good con- 
science and faith unfeigned ; from which things 
some having swerved have turned aside unto 
vain talking; desiring to be teachers of the law, 
though they understand neither what they say, 
nor whereof they confidently affirm. But we 
know that the law is good, if a man use it law- 
fully, as knowing this, that the law is not made 
for a righteous man, but for the lawless and 
unruly, for the ungodly and sinners, for the 
unholy and profane." 

The whole of this instructive text is so help- 
ful to us in view of the object we are seeking! 

193 



194 PERFECTION, 

to gain, that I could not refrain from quoting 
it, though the immediate purpose with which I 
turned to the passage was to call attention to 
" the end of the charge." It seems that certain 
men in Ephesus had turned aside to " vain talk- 
ing," and were teaching a doctrine essentially 
different from that taught by the apostle. They 
were giving undue prominence and ascribing 
unwarranted influence to the law, considered 
merely as law; and the evident implication is 
that they were attributing salutary virtue to it. 
No doubt they were insisting that good men 
must come under the law, or they could not be 
saved, showing thus a radical misapprehension 
of the true meaning and object of the Christian 
religion. Now in order to enable Timothy to 
combat this error, the apostle reminds him that 
the essence of the whole matter of salvation, 
and which was, therefore, to be the end and 
object aimed at in his "charge," is " Zove out 
of a pure heart, and a good conscience and faith 
unfeigned." 

And this, my beloved readers, is to be our 
objective point; it is to reach that state and 
condition of heart and life in which the external 



THE HIGHER LAW. 195 

law does not apply to us. It is not made for a 
righteous man. God did not design it for good 
people, but for bad; "for the lawless and un- 
ruly, for the ungodly and sinners, for the unholy 
and profane." These are under it, subject to its 
control, its restTaints, its limitations, its bond- 
age ; but the true Christian is free from it, not 
because the law, which is holy, just and good, 
is set aside with reference to him, but because 
he has risen above it and gone beyond it. He 
has been lifted into the divine region of love, 
which can not be measured by law. No statu- 
tory enactment can prescribe its course or define 
its action. It overflows all the embankments 
of mere rule, and moves by the power of its 
own fullness, and its own spontaneous and liv- 
ing impulses. Or, to use a different image, it 
is a well of water in the heart, a divine fountain 
springing up of its own accord unto everlasting 
life. To one who feels in his soul the stirring 
and swelling influence of such a principle as 
this, how cold and dry and dead, how jejune 
and tasteless is mere law ! And how we sym- 
pathize with Paul when he says that those who 
desire to be teachers of the law "understand 



196 PERFECTION. 

neither what they say, nor whereof they confl 
dently affirm/^ 

I trust my considerate readers will pardon me 
for lingering so long upon the essential prin- 
ciples and characteristics of spiritual life before 
proceeding, as I hope to do after awhile, to 
consider the means and processes of growth. 
For myself I feel that what I am now attempt- 
ing to do is the most essential part of my work. 
If we can but be sure of having the living 
fountain within us, the stream will in a large 
measure take care of itself. It may need the 
removal of an obstruction here and there, and 
perhaps some little leading in order to guide its 
course through the greenest fields and the richest 
pastures ; but in any case it will be sure to flow 
towards the great ocean of love from which it 
came. 

I am the more inclined to the course which 
I am taking, because there seems to be a sort of 
proclivity in us — at any rate the tendency is 
widespread, and very hard to overcome — to sub- 
stitute morality for life, and law for love. We 
wonder sometimes that the members of certain 
religious communions submit so uncomplain- 



THE HIGHER LAW. 197 

ingly to "be governed by " rules " and " Disci- 
plines;" but really it is just what men desire. 
It is a relief to them to have their conduct pre- 
scribed; to be told in measured letter what they 
shall eat, and when they shall fast, and where 
they shall go, and how they shall worship. 
Peter exhibited something of this same feeling 
when he said : " Lord, how oft shall my brother 
sin against me, and I forgive him ? until seven 
times? Jesus saith unto him, I say not unto 
thee. Until seven times; but. Until seventy 
times seven." 

Peter felt that he would be quite willing to 
conform to any definitely measured requirement. 
Only give him the exact rule, and he would be 
careful to come up to it. He was not the man 
who would go back upon the letter of a com- 
mandment. " Just say how often," such is the 
spirit of his question, " and I will forgive him 
that many times; but after that, let him look 
out! The next time he sins against me, I will 
settle up the old score along with the new ! " 
In other words, Peter did not really contemplate 
ih^ forgiving of his brother; what he meant was 
simply the refraining from taking vengeance 



198 PERFECTION. 

upon him. But how his Master undermines 
his worthless legalism ! Not until seven times, 
but until seventy times seven — that is, always. 
The very spirit of forgiveness is to be in you; 
and you are to act it out as from yourself, with- 
out reference to any definite law. And then he 
utters the parable of the two debtors, which con- 
cludes with the lesson that we are from the heart 
to forgive every one his trespasses. Not some 
people and some trespasses, but every man and 
every trespass. Nothing could more forcibly 
express the difference between "letter" and 
"spirit;" between a rule imposed from with- 
out, and the law of God written in the heart, 
and obeyed from the heart. 

Has it ever occurred to the reader to consider 
why this is called God's law? We usually 
understand that it is simply because he reveals 
and proclaims it, or because it is he who re- 
quires us to keep it. But while this is one 
aspect of the truth, may there not be a deeper 
meaning in it? I feel strongly inclined to the 
belief that it is his law, because it is that which 
he himself observes. I do not mean, of course, 
that the details of it in its necessary adjustments 



THE HIGHER LAW. 199 

to our earthly life and human relations are ap- 
plicable to him, or predicable of him; but the 
true essence of it; that from which all these 
details flow as from a fountain ; that upon which 
they all depend, and which alone can secure 
their proper observance — this law of true and 
holy life — this principle of love, which, "after 
all, is the one and only law — this is his divine 
attribute and his eternal characteristic. 

When we read, therefore, that all the law 
and the prophets, that is to say, all revelation^ 
hangs upon the law of love ; when we read that 
love is the fulfilling of the law, and that every 
one who loves is born of God, and knoweth 
God, for God is love — we begin to realize the 
blessedness that must spring from the keeping 
of this law, and keeping it as only it can be 
kept, from the heart. It makes and marks us 
the children of God. It fills us with all his 
fullness. It brings us into sweet communion 
and fellowship with him. Our hearts respond 
to his, and beat in sympathy with all that he 
feels. 

The importance of conduct is not in itself so 
much as in what it means. There is no inher- 



200 PERFECTION. 

ent value in our mere doings. They are but 
signs of what we are. If we do the right things 
with the right motive, and in the right spirit, 
well and good. We shall be rewarded not for 
the things done, but for the heart that prompted 
the doing of them. It is we who are judged 
according to our deeds. They declare and show 
our inward state and character. If we are pure 
and holy and good, if we are sincere and guile- 
less, if we really and heartily love God and our 
fellow-men — all this will necessarily express 
itself in corresponding conduct. But alas, we 
may ape this conduct; we may substitute it for 
those inner traits of which it should be the true 
exponent; we may simulate a virtue which we 
do not possess, and impose upon ourselves and 
our brethren by exhibiting the galvanic con- 
tortions of death in place of the spontane- 
ous movements of life. We have listened to 
many sermons — many excellent sermons — on 
"What must I do to be saved?" To those. 
who are out of Christ, and seeking to find 
him, these discourses are appropriate and nec- 
essary. But for Christians — for those who 
have done the things that made them Chris- 



THE HIGHER LAW. 201 

tians — there is another, a more absorbing and 
momentous subject : ^* AYhat must I be to be 
saved?" 



CHAPTER VI. 
SEEING THE INVISIBLE. 

If I have not signally failed in my efforts 
thus far, it has been made sufficiently evident 
that the man who is what he ought to be will 
not need to be lashed into the performance of 
his duty. The things which please God are the 
very ones which please him. If in the real 
core of his heart he is honest and truthful and 
upright ; if in his very soul he is merciful, for- 
giving, compassionate and tender; if he sin- 
cerely loves all that is good and pure and 
Christlike, he will not have to be driven and 
dragooned into a course of life corresponding 
to such a character. It will flow spontaneously 
out of him. 

And yet he may need to be led onward, and 
encouraged to attempt greater things. Broth- 
erly counsel and sympathy, scriptural instruc- 
tion and godly example will all be helpful to 
him. He may be brought to a higher apprecia- 
tion of his privileges, and to a heartier realiza- 
tion of his sacred and blessed relations to God. 

202 



SEEING THE INVISIBLE. 203 

He may be shown, perhaps, with greater clear- 
ness than he has hitherto seen it, how conduct 
reacts upon character, and promotes its develop- 
ment. And certainly we can all assist one 
another in the study and improvement of the 
great volume of God^s Providence — a book 
which he makes the companion of his word, 
and the commentary upon it. Though deeply 
sensible of my unfitness to treat these lofty 
themes as they should be treated, I can at least 
fix the attention of my readers upon some of 
thera, and this of itself will be a source of profit 
and blessing to them. 

The terras of the title which I have given to 
this chapter, if understood in their strictly lit- 
eral sense, would be incongruous. It is, of 
course, impossible actually to see the invisible. 
And yet the word ^^ see '' is sometimes used in 
the Scriptures to signify the " view '' which the 
soul may take of that which, with the natural 
eye, can not be seen. For example, the apostle 
speaks of '' looking at the things which are not 
seen^^ (II. Cor. iv. 18). And though it is not 
said of Moses (Heb. xi. 27) that he literally saw 
God, we are told that "he endured as seeing 



204 PERFECTION, 

him who is invisible." In like manner the 
patriarchs are declared to have seen the promises 
afar oflP (Heb. xi. 13) ; and Abraham rejoiced 
to see Christie day, "and he saw it, and was 
glad" (John viii. 56). 

In that passage (Job xix. 26, 27), which seems 
to be so difficult to translate, we read in the 
Revised Version, as modified by the American 
revisers: "And after my skin, even this body, 
is destroyed, then without my flesh shall I see 
God; whom I, even I, shall see on my side, and 
mine eyes shall behold, and not as a stranger." 
Here the figure of seeing with the soul alone, 
"without the body," is vivified by the use of 
the word " eyes." Finally we come to the 
beatitude : " Blessed are the pure in heart, for 
they shall see God.'^ But while this is in the 
future tense, like the assurance expressed by 
Job, and seems to point for its realization to the 
future state, I do not think that the blessedness 
of this vision is wholly postponed till we reach 
the heavenly world. Whatever the state or con- 
dition into which we may hereafter be changed 
or introduced, I doubt whether it will ever be 
possible for us to see the Infinite Spirit in any 



SEEING THE INVISIBLE. 205 

sense essentially different from that in whicli we 
may now see him. We may hope to breathe 
this Spirit in deeper inspirations, to come into 
more intimate communion with him, and better 
to understand his character and his ways; but 
I suppose that we shall never literally see him, 
save in the person of Christ, who is " the image 
of the Invisible God.^^ " We now see [him] in 
a mirror, darkly; but then face to face" (I. Cor. 
xiii. 12). And this vision, imperfect and indis- 
tinct as it is, exerts a transforming influence 
upon us, and tends to make us more and more 
like him upon whom we look. This is expressly 
taught in II. Cor. iii. 18: ''But we all, with 
unveiled face, beholding as in a mirror the glory 
of the Lord, are transformed into the same 
image from glory to glory, even as from the 
Lord the Spirit." If we are thus gradually 
changing and growing into the likeness of 
Christ, who is himself, it will be remembered, 
the image of God, we are certainly going on to 
perfection, and our hearts may well be filled 
and animated by the hope of finally reaching 
this goal. But the consummation as well as 
the progress, the fruition as well as the hope. 



206 PERFECTION. 

is connected with seeing: "We know that, if 
he shall be manifested, we shall be like him; 
for we shall see him as he is. And every one 
that hatU this hope set on him, purifieth him- 
self, even as he is pure" (I.John iii. 2, 3). 

Of course now, while we are compassed with 
the flesh, and our minds disturbed and dis- 
tracted by so many worldly objects, we can see 
only " as in a mirror," and the view is neces- 
sarily dark," that is, enigmatical, mysterious. 
Reflected objects are not exhibited in their true 
relations, either to us or to each other. They 
consequently suggest problems or riddles, for 
the full solution of which we must wait till we 
reach the direct vision of the world to come. 
But even as it is with us here and now, with 
our clouded intellect and imperfect sight, we 
can still perceive that what we gaze upon wifeh 
our inner eye is " glory " — the " glory of the 
Lord." 

And let me ask, What is the glory of the 
Lord, but his character? His several attributes 
which constitute all that we know or can know 
of him, such as love, mercy, goodness, wisdom, 
power — these are his glory ; and while we con- 



SEEING THE INVISIBLE. 207 

template these, meditating upon them and striv- 
ing to appreciate them as qualities of inestimable 
worth and value — as being in fact the only good 
— we find ourselves little by little becoming 
weaned from meaner things, and changed into 
these more excellent and divine characteristics 
— "transformed" into the same image from glory 
to glory." This means, I suppose, from the 
glory of God which we behold, to our own 
glory, and also from one degree of this to an- 
other. It indicates our progress upward and 
Godward. 

We are very little and imperfect; we are 
sometimes hardly able to stand; and we feel 
that we can not move. We are often sorely 
tried; the world, the flesh and the devil tempt 
us to give over, and we are liable to become 
discouraged. At such times how blessed it is to 
reflect that if we can do nothing more, if we 
are unable to walk or even to stand, we can at 
least sit down, or, better still, kneel down, and 
look; and by looking be transformed into the 
divine image. It is certainly no ordinary pro- 
vision — no common privilege — that enables us 
to acquire strength and courage, and light and 



208 PERFECTION. 

peace, and joy and love, just by seeing Him who 
is invisible. 

We talk a great deal about faith and trusty 
and this is well. We can not say too much 
upon these important subjects, if only we are 
careful to understand them aright. But we 
should remember that they are not abstractions. 
Faith is not a thing which has inherent virtue, 
or any saving efficacy in and of itself. Nor is 
trust a mere theological term to be lauded as 
having some mysterious worth of its own, nor 
yet a something for the mere possession of 
which God will reward us. Important and 
valuable as they are, their worth is wholly in- 
strumental. They serve to bring us into com- 
munion with the Invisible. They are the eyes, 
so to speak, with which the soul looks upon 
God, and by thus looking brings the glory of 
the Lord into itself. And it is because we so 
frequently use the words faith and trust by 
themselves, as though they were things apart — 
as though they were meritorious per se — that I 
have chosen to express their dependent relation 
by the phrase, '^ Seeing the Invisible." Mere 
"faith," as a simple state of mind, or as a sort 



SEEING THE INVISIBLE. 209 

of conscious feeling, or what some may call an 
" experience," is really of no value, and, prop- 
erly speaking, is not faith. Nothing is worthy 
of this name which does not bring us into con- 
nection with the Divine Being, and which does 
not constitute a channel through which his gra- 
cious and saving influence may flow into the 
soul. What we need is not faith simply, but 
faith in God. And there is nothing fraught 
with richer blessings to the soul, nothing that 
can better sustain and uphold us amid the trials 
and afflictions of life, than the ability to realize 
that God is lovingly near us ; that he is watch- 
ing over us for good, and leading us onward. 
The Lord said to Moses, and no doubt the prom- 
ise is applicable to every one of us : " My pres- 
ence shall go with thee." If we could but 
habituate ourselves to something like a con- 
sciousness of this ^^ presence " — whether we call 
it feeling, or seeing, or believing, or trusting — 
if it could have for us a reality comparable to 
some sense-perception, as with 

The poor Indian, whose untutored mind 

Sees God in clouds, and hears him in the wind; 

it would bring to us an unspeakable comfort. 



210 PERFECTION. 

In our frailty and weakness we should daily 
look away from ourselves; we should cease to 
fear, for we should know that ^* by the power 
of God we were guarded through faith unto 
the salvation ready to be revealed in the last 
time/^ And thus we could take home to our- 
selves the other promise to Moses : " My pres- 
ence shall go with thee, and I will give thee rest J' 



CHAPTER VII. 

NIGHT SONGS. 

The apostle tells us that " God is light, and 
in him is no darkness at all." It follows, there- 
fore, that if we live near to him; if we daily 
walk with the assured conviction that we are 
in his immediate presence, and with a faith that 
looks to him and sees him, we shall always " walk 
in the light, as he is in the light;" or, as the 
hymn expresses it, we shall " walk in the light 
of God." I think it would be well if we could 
impress upon our minds and hearts some of the 
lessons of Holy Scripture which may tend to 
confirm us in the belief of this truth. I sup- 
pose it was from deep personal experience, as 
well as from direct inspiration, that David said: 
"Th^ Lord is my light and my salvation." 
And how cheeringly does Isaiah utter the rich 
promise that ^^thy sun shall no more go down; 
neither shall thy moon withdraw itself: for the 
Lord shall be thine everlasting light, and the 
days of thy mourning shall be ended" (Ts. Ix. 
20). It will be noted, too, that all that I have 

211 



212 PERFECTION. 

hitherto said upon the importance of spiritual 
life, and of the maintenance of vital connection 
with its Source, is more than suggested by what 
the apostle teaches concerning Christ : " In him 
was life, and the life was the light of men" 
(John i. 4). This doctrine of the identification 
of our light with Christ's life is mentioned here 
merely for the reader's serious meditation, as 
the elaboration of a subject so profound would 
lead us away from our immediate purpose. 
There is a sense in which his coming into the 
world enlightens every man (John i. 9), but 
Christians are specially illuminated. They are 
"all the children of light" (I. Thess. v. 5). 
They "are called out of darkness into his mar- 
velous light" (I. Pet. ii. 9). And this expresses 
precisely the point with which I introduced this 
subject. We are near to God. His glorious 
face shines upon us. He has "lifted up the 
light of his countenance upon us/' and has put 
gladness into our hearts. 

But not only is it our privilege to "see" him 
thus by faith; we may also hear his voice. It 
comes to us in no thunder tones. It is neither 
loud nor startling. It is so "still" and 



NIGHT SONGS. 213 

"smair^ that we must needs listen for it if we 
would catch its whispered lessons, and be en- 
lightened by its luminous directions. If we 
could realize that in all the instructions, encour- 
agements, admonitions, comforts, promises which 
are applicable to us in the Scriptures, God is 
really present and speaking them to us now, the 
words would come to us with a vividness and 
a living power which, in our casual and careless 
reading, we too often miss. It is one thing to 
perceive that they were once uttered, and quite 
another to feel that they are, to all intents and 
purposes, being uttered now. And it is doubt- 
less for this reason, because God is present with 
it and in ir, that his word is ^' living and power- 
ful." To my mind there is something inex- 
pressibly sweet in the thought, or, rather, in 
the assured conviction that our heavenly Father 
has not simply given us the record of what he 
said to distant people ages ago, but that he is 
really speaking every day to us, addressing 
words of comfort l;o our hearts, and of light 
to our understanding. When, therefore, the 
troubles of life assail us, when we are perplexed 
and cast down, when we are tempted and tried, 



214 PERFECTION. 

and feel almost like giving over, it will be a 
blessing to us if we can get away from the noise 
and turmoil of the world, and hear a still small 
voice speaking not simply to the ancient He- 
brews through 1-aiah, but to our own troubled 
hearts, saying : " Fear not, for I have redeemed 
thee : I have called thee by thy name; thou art 
mine. When thou passest through the waters, 
I will he with thee;, and through the rivers, theij 
shall not overflow thee: when thou walkest 
through the fire, thou shalt not be burned; 
neither shall the flame kindle upon thee'' (Isa. 
xliii. 1-3). 

But when I call attention thus to these ex- 
ceeding great distinctions and honors — to the 
light of God shining into our hearts and upon 
our pathway ; to his assured and certain pres- 
ence with us, 7iever leaving nor forsaking us ; 
to his gracious and almighty protection and 
support, let it be understood that I am speak- 
ing of the fact, rather than of the experience, 
of what is really true, however v/e may fail to 
realize it. For very few, perhaps none, of even 
the best of Christiaus cau be said to pass their 
days in unclouded sunsiiiue and in unqualified 



NIGHT SONGS. 215 

happiness. God may be to us in very deed all 
that I have said — near and gracious, and pour- 
ing out his heart of love upon us — and still, 
owing to our fleshly nature, and to the pervert- 
ing and blinding influences connected with our 
secular life, we may fail to see and realize all 
this, and may even be brought to feel that he 
is far away from us. We have seasons of de- 
pression. We come into a cold, prayerless, 
unjoyous spirit. The ways of God in his deal- 
ings with us are mysterious and inexplicable, 
and we sometimes think that his hand is very 
heavy for a loving Father's hand! A.nd then 
doubts supervene. Is ho a loving Father? 
And if he is, are we indeed his children ? 
Surely something is wrong. Either we do not 
sustain to him the relation that we had fondly 
supposed, or else his is not the character that 
we had believed and in which we had trusted. 
Oh, it is a dreadful thing to get down into this 
"slough of despond!" — to feel that God has 
forsaken us; that it is in vain to serve him; 
that he hears, he heeds, he pities us no more. 
The wicked flourish like a green bay tree ; the 
men of the world seem to bask in his smiles ; 



216 PERFECTION. 

their lives are crowned with blessing ; they 
have more than heart could wish; and with it 
all they appear to be gay and bright and joyous, 
while we are left to struggle with adversity, and 
to taste the bitter cup of disappointment, afflic- 
tion and sorrow. He even takes from us our 
best beloved, and he leaves us to endure our 
calamities and griefs in loneliness and desola- 
tion of soul. 

If any of my readers has ever experienced 
some such feeling as this, let him not suppose 
for a moment that his case is exceptional. 
Alas ! to all of us the night cometh. For some 
reason — and I am now quite sure that it is a 
benevolent reason — God sometimes hides his 
face from us. Clouds arise over our lives. Our 
sun goes down. Gloomy shadows come creep- 
ing across our pathway. We cry to him in our 
distress, but it grows darker and darker. And 
now we can not see our way. We are " walk- 
ing in darkness, and have no light." 

But shall we give over? Shall we abandon 
God because in his own wise love he is leading 
us down into vales of darkness in order to con- 
duct us to greater heights and brighter joys 



NIGHT SONGS. 217 

beyond? Shall we imagine that we are not his 
children, and not accepted by him, because he 
chastens and corrects us? Surely we did not 
become Christians in order to make money; to 
secure uninterrupted worldly prosperity ; to en- 
joy an immunity from the ills and sorrows of 
life, but to become perfect as God is perfect; 
and to this end to yield ourselves to his guid- 
ance and discipline in the full assurance of faith. 
The instruction given by the prophet seems 
to cover the whole case : " Who is among you 
that feareth the Lord, that obeyeth the voice 
of his servant, that walheth in darkness j and 
hath no light f let him trust in the name of the 
Lord, and stay upon his God" (Isa. 1. 10). 
Translating this language into our dispensation, 
it is evident that he that ^^ feareth the Lord, 
and obeyeth the voice of his servant," the 
Christ, is a Christian. He need have no doubt 
as to his standing and relation. He is a child 
of God, beloved, and watched over, and cared 
for. And if it be so that for a time he "walketh 
in darkness and hath no light," this should not 
be thought a reason for distrusting God's favor- 
able disposition, or his own acceptance with him. 



218 PERFECTION. 

On the contrary, he is to feel that these clouds 
and this darkness are round about the very 
throne of God; and that, in being led into the 
darkness, he is really coming closer to God. 
While, therefore, the outward light is shut out, 
it should only, like Milton's blindness, intensify 
the brightness of the spiritual vision. It is 
now that God is indeed specially near, a very 
present help in time of trouble. These occa- 
sions, therefore, are calls to us not to walk, and 
not to try to walk, by sight, but by faith. 
When a Christian is in darkness and hath no 
light, he still has one blessed resource — he can 
" trust in the name of the Lord, and stay upon 
his God," 

And surely, if we can believe that our 
troubles, afflictions and sorrows are neither ac- 
cidents nor judgments, but chastisements, giving 
evidences of truest love on God's part, and 
assurances that he regards us as his children, 
we shall not only submit to them, but we shall 
find in them sources of richest blessing, and 
occasions for thanksgiving and praise. For 
though he may lead us into the darkness, he 
also giveth to his beloved songs in the night. 



CHAPTER VIII. 

THE EVERYDAY LIFE. 

In making our pilgrimage through the world, 
all of us, whatever our state or condition, come 
to extraordinary emergencies, and have special 
occasions of trial and difficulty. These, how- 
ever, are comparatively few. It is only once in 
a while that the daily routine of existence is 
broken up; for in general the current of life 
flows onward, if not without shoals and obstruc- 
tions, still with no great disturbance. To-day 
is very much like yesterday and the day before ; 
and perhaps for many weeks there has been but 
little in our experience outside of the ordinary 
round of commonplace duties and pleasures. 
Every night we lie down and sleep, and every 
morning we go to our regular business, domes- 
tic, commercial, professional, or whatever it is; 
and while there may never be a day in which 
we do not encounter more or less of trial — some- 
thing calculated to annoy and worry us, some 
demand upon our patience, some need to control 
our tempers and our tongues, the great trials 

219 



220 PERFECTION. 

come but seldom, and are, therefore, properly 
called extraordinary. 

It is remarkable that in general we bear these 
latter with more fortitude, and with the exhibi- 
tion of a truer Christian spirit, than we do the 
former. We seem to summon up our latent 
powers, and to bring forward our reserved 
forces so as successfully to meet an unusual 
emergency. The extraordinary occasion arouses 
us to extraordinary effort ; we become watchful 
over ourselves; we begin to examine our hearts 
and lives, and we pray with unwonted fervency. 
We draw in our thoughts and affections from 
the world; we lose our interest in it; our eye 
becomes single, and so our whole body is full of 
light. Thus in the perilous sickness of ourselves 
or our families, in the darkness and sorrow of 
a broken household, in the overwhelming ca- 
lamity of flood or flame, the very necessities of 
the case, and our own utter helplessness, bring 
us close to God, the Source of all strength, and 
we are borne safely through the crisis, and 
carried forward once more into the ordinary life. 

The great apostle to the Gentiles barely men- 
tions the more serious events of his history. 



THE E VERY-DAY LIFE. 221 

Stonintrs, imp) isonmonts, shipwrecks, scourgings, 
for these and such like he is always fully pre- 
pared. He expects them; he has secured the 
grace of fortitude and of patience that he may 
properly bear them; he even welcomes them, 
and rejoices in them. And when the great 
crisis of life is impending, when he is about to 
be " offered," he looks forward to his martyrdom 
with serene composure — nay, he barely glances 
at it, while he fixes his gaze upon the "crown 
of life " which is just beyond, and which fills 
his soul with rapture. Compared with "the 
exceeding and eternal weight of glory'' into 
which he was so soon to enter, no earthly afflic- 
tion, however heavy and prolonged, could seem 
other than light and momentary. 

Thus was he completely armed and armored 
with respect to the more dreadful and perilous 
conflicts of life. None of these things moved 
hira. But when it came to the little "thorn in 
the flesh/' the difference in his feeling and be- 
havior is noteworthy. He was not ready for it. 
It came as a surprise. He was amply able to 
meet and bear larger troubles; his mental and 
spiritual preparation for these was abundant; 



222 PERFECTION. 

but he seems not to have deemed it necessary 
to provide himself with grace to endure so small 
a thing as a thorn ! We do not know what this 
" thorn " was, but we do know that it was com- 
paratively very iiisigaificant — like a splinter in 
the finger, painful, but not serious, distracting 
to the attention, but not dangerous. And we 
can but notice that, until he was better in- 
structed, he was unwilling to bear it. He be- 
sought the Lord thrice, not for strength to 
endure it, but that it might be taken away from 
him. 

No doubt his experience with this thing was 
very much like ours in similar cases. We can 
meet a formidable adversary. We are willing 
to " take up arms against a sea of troubles, and 
by opposing, end them." There is something 
manly and heroic in this ; something worthy of 
our attention and our effort ; something, too, by 
which we can manifest our trust in God, that 
his 'Agrafe is sufficient" for these things. But 
a grain of sand in the shoe, a cinder in the eye, 
a thorn in the flesh — these are mere irritations, 
annoyances, things which fret and worry, with- 
out seeming to be serious enough to call for 



THE EVERY-DAY LIFE. 223 

divine grace, and the bringing into action of 
Christian virtues. If a child is prostrated with 
typhoid fever, the mother gives up everything 
for it, and does it cheerfully and as a matter of 
course. Day in and day out, during many long 
and anxious weeks, she devotes herself exclu- 
sively to the little sufferer, and does it with a 
patience and a fortitude tliat are well nigh inex- 
haustible. It is an emergency, a great and 
serious occasion, and it brings out all the best 
traits of her character, while she seeks and ob- 
tains special grace from Heaven that she may 
be able to hold out in the performance of her 
task of love. But this same woman, so sweetly 
meek, so admirably patient, so trustfully de- 
voted in the presence of this extraordinary and 
great occasion, may be very different when sub- 
jected to the test of the little troubles and 
irritations of the every-day life. She may ex- 
hibit more impatience over the breaking of a 
plate, or the burning of a biscuit, or the soiling 
of a garment, or the carelessness of a servant, 
than she manifested during the whole weary 
period in which the typhoid fever was running 
its course. 



224 PERFECTION. 

But we are prone to make not only the exer- 
cise and development of the passive virtues 
depend upon the extraordinary, the same is true 
in large measure of the active. If a grand 
movement is to be set on foot and urged for- 
ward ; if a great moral or religious reformation 
is to be brought about ; if some momentous in- 
terest, some supremely important cause, is to be 
supported, we rise with the emergency and be- 
come equal to it. We enter with spirit and 
enthusiasm upon the great and unusual enter- 
prise, and devote to its accomplishment all our 
best thoughts and powers. Thus the active 
virtues, zeal, enterprise, liberality, diligence, 
and whatever else terminates upon that which 
is external to us, are enlisted and brought into 
exercise, and by exercise they are developed. 
But what if the feebler calls of the daily life, 
the fainter appeals which the constantly recur- 
ring, and therefore ordinary circumstances of 
our existence — what if these be disregarded? 

Alas, what progress shall we make towards 
perfection if we go forward only on great occa- 
sions, and under the influence of that which is 
exceptional, and of comparatively rare occur- 



THE EVERY-DAY LIFE. 225 

rence? The missionary cause comes before us 
in the form of active solicitation only two or 
three times a year; and it is but seldom that 
we are called upon to build churches, to endow 
colleges, to institute reformations, or "to do 
some great thing." Mercifully, too, the more 
serious trials and afflictions of life come to us 
generally after long intervals. But the little 
ones — the little opportunities for doing good, 
and the little accidents and incidents of domestic 
and business life; the word that tends to rouse 
the temper, and to provoke retaliation; the 
slight that manifests unfriendliness; the advan- 
tage taken of us in a trade; the gossip that 
would make us forget the law of love ; the 
worries everywhere and always connected with 
servants and children and housekeeping — these 
and such as these enter into the very warp and 
woof of every-day life. We can not avoid thetn 
if we would; we need not if we could. Prop- 
erly understood, they are not evils, save as we 
make them such. Like the thorn in PauPs 
flesh, they have their good design. They fur- 
nish the means by which we can exercise our- 
selves unto godliness, by which we can bring 



226 PERFECTION. 

into action, and thus into development, qualities 
and virtues which would else become atrophied 
and impotent. 

As, therefore, the providences which daily 
surround us, whether of joy or grief, of ease or 
pain, of encouragement or provocation, of sick- 
ness or health, of success or disappoinment, are 
wisely and lovingly sent, let us wisely and 
lovingly improve them. It is not approbation 
of the words love, patience, gentleness, sweet- 
ness, fidelity, nor yet the endorsement of the 
doctrine of Scripture respecting them, that con- 
stitutes our progress, but it is to he what they 
represent; and for this we need the very cir- 
cumstances in which God has placed us. 



CHAPTER IX. 

SPIRITUAL DECLENSION. 

If we were all the time making progress 
towards perfection, even though we were mov- 
ing at no very rapid pace, our advancement 
would be notable and encouraging. But, un- 
fortunately, with most of us there are periods 
of decline. We go backward, and lose ground. 
The fervency of our zeal is abated. Like the 
Ephesians, we leave our first love. It is not 
meant that we abandon our religion ; that we 
give up our hope of eternal life ; that we lose 
all relish for spiritual enjoyments. The proba- 
bility is that in the state of mind indicated we 
shall still regularly, or at any rate, frequently, 
attend upon the services of the Lord's house, 
and even take part in them. We shall expe- 
rience a degree of pleasure at any unusual suc- 
cesses in the Church, and shall be glad to read 
evidences of the prosperity of the " cause,'' for 
we have not cut loose from it ; we have not gone 
back into the world ; we still claim to be, and I 
trust we are. Christians. At the same time 

227 



228 PERFECTION. 

there is a manifest abatement and cooling down 
of our spirituality. Little by little, other inter- 
ests have taken possession of our hearts, and 
have come to engross most of our time and our 
thoughts. These other interests may all be 
legitimate objects of attention, and many of 
them even necessary. We must be diligent in 
business ; it is light and proper for us to pursue 
our several callings — to cultivate the farm, to 
harvest the crop, to market the surplus, to pro- 
vide comforts and even luxuries for the family; 
and in like manner the merchant must needs be 
wide awake, well-posted as to the state of the 
markets, and closely attentive to all the details 
of his business, whether of buying or selling or 
managing. Similar remarks might be made of 
every profession and avocation. They all make, 
and properly make, large demands upon us — 
demands which it is right for us to honor, pro- 
vided we can do so without sacrificing higher 
interests, and ignoring more important claims. 
But just here lies the danger. It is all well 
enough to be " diligent in business," if one is 
able also, and at the same time, to be " fervent in 
spirit, serving the Lord." I have known a few 



SPIRITUAL DECLENSION. 229 

such persons — meu whose religion seemed to be 
carried into their pursuits — who never forgot 
its claims, nor made them secondary, but who 
appeared to grow in grace, in humility, in gen- 
erosity, in gratitude, in zeal for God and the 
cause of humanity — in proportion as the Lord 
prospered them in worldly things. But I have 
known many more in whom the cares of this 
life and the deceitfulness of riches, springing 
up liiie thorns in their spiritual gardens, have 
choked the word, and they have become un- 
fruitful. 

The times in which we live are fraught with 
special peril from this source. The spirit of 
contentment with such things as we have seems 
to have taken its flight from the world. Men 
are no longer satisfied with a modest and frugal 
living, the fruit of honest and daily toil ; they 
desire to be rich, and not even this in any 
reasonable measure or deo^ree, but immensely 
rich, far beyond any possible use that they can 
make of their wealth, or any comfort which 
they or their families can derive from it. It 
has become a passion with them, so engrossing 
and absorbing as to leave little or no interest 



230 PERFECTION. 

in their hearts for the trae riches which God 
will give to those who are worthy to receive 
them. We should, therefore, be on our guard. 
" They that desire to be rich fall into tempta- 
tion and a snare and many foolish and hurtful 
lusts, such as drown men in destruction and 
perdition. For the love of money is a root of 
all kinds of evil: which some reaching after 
have been led astray from the faith, and have 
pierced themselves through with many sor- 
rows" (I. Tim. vi. 9, 10). Some of the pecu- 
liar "sorrows" or evils growing out of this 
root are intimated in the seventeenth and eigh- 
teenth verses of this same cliapter : "Charge 
them that are rich in this present world, that 
they be not high-minded^ nor have their hope 
set on the uncertainty of riches, but on Godj who 
giveth us richly all things to enjoy; that they 
do good, that they be rich in good works, that 
they be ready to distribute, willing to communi- 
cate; laying up in store for themselves a good 
foundation against the time to come, that they 
may lay hold on the life which is life indeed." 
This, then, is one source of spiritual declen- 
sion — the love of money /or itself , for the grati- 



SPIRITUAL DECLENSION. 231 

fication of the evil passions of pride and vanity 
and vulgar display which it may bring. We 
may fancy — I fear very many do fancy — that 
it is possible to serve God and mammon, but it 
is not ! 

I shall not undertake to mention all the vari- 
ous influences which tend to draw us away from 
" the chief concern of mortals here below," but 
there is one other which seems to call for special 
notice. I allude to what we are wont in brief 
to call "Society/' with its round of pleasures, 
amusements and pastimes, its petty jealousies 
and rivalries, and its cold and uncharitable, not 
to say cruel, criticisms. It is the spirit that 
pervades and dominates this social circle, which 
constitutes the evil and danger of its influence. 
Keally good society, even if it were not strictly 
religious in tone — if it were simply of exalted 
character — would be stimulating to the higher 
nature, and in many respects helpful to spiritual 
progress. But the low gossip of the newly en- 
riched, their vulgar parade and display, their 
braggadocio and hollow pretension, their want 
of sympathy for all that is noble and good, not 
to say their skepticism of its existence — these 



232 PERFECTION. 

are elements which enter largely into our mod- 
ern social life. Now, of course, a matured 
Christian of fixed principles and fixed heart 
can mingle in even sach society without serious 
detriment; but there are very many who come 
forth from the ordeal with distinct and unmis- 
takable spiritual loss. They have caught some- 
thing of the godless and pernicious spirit which 
they have been breathing. Their tone is 
lowered. Their taste for the pure and the 
good is blunted. A careful examination will 
reveal to them that they have gone backward 
and downward. 

I need not mention partisan politics, which 
ever and anon becomes so dominant in its in- 
fluence as to lead men away from all interest in 
the Church, and even sometimes away from 
truth and honor and God. 

It is a trite observation and a true one that 
we can not stand still. If we are not moving 
forward we are going backward. It matters 
not what the cause may be. Indeed, without 
any assignable or recognized cause we may find 
ourselves becoming careless, and indifferent to 
the demands of the higher life. "We have ceased 



SPIRITUAL DECLENSION. 233 

to give constant and earnest heed to " the things 
that were heard/^ and, consequently, have 
"drifted'' away from them (Heb. ii. 1). In 
the Old Testament this drifting is more than 
once called by the very suggestive word haoh- 
sliding. It is not a running away ; not posi- 
tively and consciously forsaking and giving up, 
but it is slipping J sliding away. 

Now with reference to this backsliding, or 
declension, or loss of ground, or spiritual coldness 
and indifference — call it what you may — I wish 
to say, first, that it is a dangerous condition. It 
is a movement in the wrong direction. The 
soul is relaxing its hold upon God, and, conse- 
quently, upon the hope that rests on God. 
Second, it is a sinful condition, dishonoring to 
the Saviour, false to our own profession, destruc- 
tive of our influence for good, and hazarding 
our eternal welfare. Third, it is pregnant with 
" many sorrows.'' Either God will, in the nec- 
essary severity of fatherly love, chasten us back 
to repentance and the right way ; or, worse still, 
we shall be left to reap the bitter fruits of our 
own folly, and to experience the remorse of 
wasted opportunities and a misspent life. But, 



234 PERFECTION. 

finally, it is not a hopeless condition. Though 
we have lost ground, we may regain it. By 
hearty repentance and renewed consecration we 
may get back into the bosom of that Infinite 
Love which is ever open and warm to receive 
us. " Return, thou backsliding Israel, saith the 
Lord ; and I will not cause mine anger to fall 
upon you : for I am merciful, saith the Lord, 
and I will not keep anger forever^' (Jer. iii. 12). 



CHAPTER X. 

A RECKONING. 

Whether we speak of our passage through 
this world to the next as a pilgrimage, a walk, 
a race, or a voyage, in any case it will be wise 
for us occasionally to ascertain what progress 
we have made, and to see just where we are. 
We can make this passage but once, nor is it 
possible for us to avoid making it. Right or 
wrong, foolishly or wisely, rapidly or slowly, 
we must go on and on till we reach the end. 
There is no turning back. There is no way of 
escaping the responsibility, AVhether willingly 
or unwillingly, we must finish our course, — 
some course, be it good or bad, and terminating 
in some destiny, either of joy or sorrow, of 
glory or anguish. In deliberately choosing the 
way of life which he will follow, and the prin- 
ciples by which he will be guided, and in mak- 
ing this choice in the light of the highest 
wisdom and most trustworthy experience known 
among men, the Christian is in no sense at dis- 
advantage. His sacrifices are no greater, his 

235 



236 PERFECTION. 

trials no more serious, his disappointments no 
more frequent, his pleasures and enjoyments no 
less than those of the man of the world; wLile 
he has the assurance, which the other can riot 
have, that at the last he will reach the true 
home of his soul, and be perfectly happy. 

We are, I fondly trust, faithfully striving to 
finish our course with joy, but very often the 
winds have been contrary, while strong currents 
have caused us to drift hither and thither. Fogs 
and mists, too, have sometimes encompassed 
our little vessels, and have shut out the light 
of sun and stars ; and now we may not know 
in exactly what latitude and longitude we are. 
We have been trying to steer by chart and com 
pass, but it may be that winds and waves and 
tides have deflected us to the right hand or the 
left; and so it will be well for us to take an 
observation and ascertain our position. 

The careful mariner, making his way across 
the pathless sea, does this every day at noon, if 
the sun can be seen, and if not, he still has tiie 
record of his log-book, from which with proxi- 
mate accuracy he can calculate his position by 
" dead-reckoning." He can, of course, tell noth- 



A RECKONING, 237 

ing by simply looking at his vessel, or by sur- 
veying the vast expanse of water in which it 
floats. To all appearances these are just the 
same to-day that they were yesterday and the 
day before. He must look up to the heavens. 
His place upon the sea is to be ascertained by 
observing his relations to the heavenly bodies. 

So, while it is doubtless necessary upon occa- 
sion for us to examine ourselves whether we be 
in the faith, I am quite sure that frequent intro- 
spection is neither necessary nor wholesome. 
Our peculiar frames and states of mind may 
lead, if we brood over them, to needless dis- 
couragement, or, on the other hand, to unwar- 
ranted spiritual elevation and self-satisfaction. 
It will be better for us, I think, to consult our 
"log-book," the record of the course we have 
been following, and the rate at which we have 
been moving, and then to look up. and ascer- 
tain our present relations to the great Sun of 
Righteousness, whose very unchangeableness 
directs and regulates our lives. 

I am happy to believe that those whose prin- 
ciples and sympathies have led them to accom- 
pany me in this series are persons who, perhaps 



238 PERFECTION. 

for years, have gradually been making progress 
— -persons who could not be content to neglect 
the great salvation, and who have, therefore, 
been all the time, though with varying vspeed, 
going on to perfection. By comparing their 
present with their past, they can not fail to 
observe, first of all, a marked and decided ad- 
vance in knowledge. I do not mean by this 
merely an increase in intellectual attainments, 
nor even a greater familiarity with the word of 
truth. These, great as is their importance, are 
subsidiary to the true knowledge. I trust that 
we have come better to know God and Jesus 
Christ whom he has sent, without which all 
other acquirements are vain and nugatory. 
This knowledge, and this only, is life eternal. 
We have been living with him all these years 
of sunshine and shadow. He has come near to 
us in our sorrows. He has hallowed our joys. 
He has blessed and brightened our lives. We 
have laid upon him our heavy heart-burdens, 
and have felt relieved. With the spirit of a 
little child we have drawn near to him in trust- 
ful love and in spiritual communion, and have 
found peace and refreshment and comfort. Yes, 



A RECKONING. 239 

we have learned by sweet experience that in 
very deed he is to his people all that his word 
had led us to believe. ^' Grace and truth have 
been multiplied to us through the knowledge of 
God J and of Jesus our Lord, according as his 
divine power hath given unto us all things that 
pertain unto life and godliness, through the 
knowledge of him who hath called us to glory 
and virtue'' (II. Pet. i. 2, 3). We have indeed 
made good progress if we have come to know 
that we may trust him ; that we may safely trust 
him; that we may always trust him ; that he is 
really caring for us, and watching over us, and 
sympathizing with us. 

To the extent that the foregoing is true of 
us, we must have acquired also ^^the ornament 
of a meek and quiet spirit, which is in the sight 
of God of great price'' (I. Pet. iii. 4). We 
have learned by this time that fretting and chaf- 
ing can do us only harm ; that as God rules'the 
world, and " worketh all things after the coun- 
sel of his own will," our murmurings at seeming 
evils are really directed against him; and we 
have come, let me hope, to accept what he sends 
us in the spirit of resignation at least, if not 



240 PERFECTION, 

yet of positive gratitude. We may not have 
reached, though it is possible to reach, as the 
apostle did, the supreme and crowning attain- 
ment of glorying in tribulation; but if we are 
cultivating this spirit, if we are more and more 
clearly seeing the hand of love in every stroke 
of chastisement — if we are looking for the 
Fatherly heart rather than for that of the angry 
Judge — we are in some measure at least follow- 
ing Paul, as he also followed Christ. 

Surely, too, with increasing years and riper 
experience, we have acquired a more complete 
mastery over ourselves, our passions, our appe- 
tites, our tongues. Doubtless we have found 
this last the most difficult. The apostle seems 
to place its achievement at the very end of 
progress — at the very goal of perfection. " If 
any man offend not in word, the same is a per- 
fect man, and able also to bridle the whole 
body'' (James iii. 2). Again, he says: ^^ If any 
man among you seemeth to be religious, and 
bridleth not his tongue, but deceiveth his own 
heart, this man's religion is vain" (James i. 26). 

If we have reached a deeper and heartier in- 
terest in the welfare of our fellow-men; if we 



A RECKONING. 241 

have acquired the habit of always making allow- 
ance for their frailty, their weakness, their tempt- 
ations, their want of early instruction, and so 
to put ourselves in their places that the sweet 
spirit of heaven-born charity dictates our judg- 
ments and mollifies our feelings ; and especially 
if we have risen to the plane of earnestly de- 
siring and faithfully laboring and sacrificing to 
promote the salvation and happiness of the poor 
and needy, the friendless and the outcast, we 
may well feel that we have drawn nearer to 
God, and that we are moving onward to per- 
fection. 

But alas, how often have we stumbled and 
fallen ! How often have the distractions of the 
world, its cares and pleasures and riches, turned 
us from our true course, and filled our hearts 
with unworthy love ! Our advancement at best 
has been unsteady and halting ; and many times 
we have sinned, and come short of our duty and 
of the glory of God. If amid all this checkered 
experience we have made any progress, it is 
owing to his mercy, and because his compas- 
sions fail not. At best we have not yet at- 
tained, neither are we already perfect. But the 



242 PERFECTION. 

glorious Sun is shining above us. It is noon- 
tide. We may look up into his face, and by 
comparing ourselves with his matchless perfec- 
tions, we may see and know " whereto we have 
already attained," and may settle upon our 
course for the future. 



CHAPTER XI. 

SAKCTIFICATION. 

This word has been greatly abused. Modern 
ideas have been injected into it until it has come 
to stand in the popular mind for something 
which is not taught in the Bible, and which to 
sober common sense is quite unsavory. First 
the Romau Catholic Charch led the thoughts 
of men away from the truth by assuming to 
canonize, or make saints, of only certain selected 
dignitaries whom she chose to esteem worthy 
of this high honor. In the next place, a class 
of Protestants, actuated by a zeal which was 
not according to knowledge, have identified the 
term with a sort of untempered religious ex- 
travagance and lofty personal pretension, which 
to most persons seems closely related to spirit- 
ual pride. When to this we add the brazen 
assumption of that modern iniquity known as 
Mormonism, or the '' Church of Latter Day 
Saints/' it will be seen how difficult it must be 
for the masses of men to disentangle the word 
from the illicit senses with which it has come 



244 PERFECTION. 

to be popularly associated. In each of these 
several errors it will be noted that the attained 
sanctification is limited to a certain class. 
Others may be good men and good Christians, 
but they are not saints. A distinction has been 
made and a line of separation drawn, unknown, 
as I read them, to the Scriptures. I trust, 
therefore, that notwithstanding the disrepute in 
which the doctrine as taught by men is held, 
the reader will consent to consider the subject 
de novo in the clear light of the inspired word. 
Perhaps the main cause of the Protestant de- 
lusion above mentioned, as well as of the con- 
fusion and difficulty in the public mind, is 
owing to a failure to note that in the Bible the 
word sanctification, together with its kindred or 
equivalent terms, is used to describe both a com- 
pleted aud also a progressive work. The first 
of these is accomplished in conversion. When 
a man becomes a Christian, when he comes out 
from the world, and with true faith and repent- 
ance dedicates himself to God in baptism, these 
very acts are sanctifying in their effect. They 
separate him who performs them from merely 
secular pursuits, and devote him to the service 



SANCTIFICATION. 245 

and glory of God. The apostles, consequently^ 
do not hesitate to characterize such persons as 
saints; and in the sense in which they thus 
use and apply the term they certainly are saints. 
They are set apart and sanctified to a special 
work. But it will be noticed that there is no 
class distinction in this. What is true of one 
is true, and in the nature of the case must b^ 
true, of all. Whoever is a Christian is neces- 
sarily and by virtue of that fact sanctified to 
God. Both the old and the young, the worthy 
and the unworthy, those whose lives are aglow 
with religious fervor, and those in whom there 
is barely a spark of spiritual fire — each and all, 
if they have not actually renounced their hold 
upon Christ, and made shipwreck of their faith, 
are recognized and spoken of by inspired writers 
as "saints.'' The whole church at Corinth are 
addressed as the "sanctified in Christ Jesus," 
notwithstanding the numerous imperfections and 
sins which were known to be present in that 
congregation. In like manner he addresses 
"all that be in Rome, beloved of God, called 
to be saints." The translators have unfortu- 
nately obscured the meaning of this text (Rom. 



246 PERFECTION. 

i. 7) by inserting after "called" the verb "to 
be," which might be understoorl in the sense of 
"to become." But this is not the true idea. 
As Paul wrote it, they were '^called saints;" 
called of God— called out from the world, and 
numbered among his holy ones. The reader 
may consult also the opening of the several 
Epistles to the Ephesians, the Philippians and 
the Colossians. 

Now when we call to mind the manifest 
moral delinquencies and shortcomings in some 
of these Christians, and the comparative imma- 
turity of all of them, of which the letters them- 
selves furnish conclusive proof, the fact that, 
without exception or distinction, they are all 
designated as "saints," becomes impressive and 
significant. I presume the Holy Spirit used 
this lofty term for the reason that there is 
potency in it. It bears in its bosom a suggest- 
ive and forcible reminder of what every Chris- 
tian is — at least in profession and relation — and, 
therefore, what he ought to become, more and 
more, in his moral and spiritual life. Unhap- 
pily, owing no doubt to the perverted meaning 
which has been given to it, we shrink from 



SANCTIFICATION. 247 

applying to ourselves, even in thought, a term 
which we have come to feel is appropriate only 
to the loftiest ideals of virtue, while it is ap- 
propriated only by fanaticism and weakness, 
or by ecclesiastical bigotry and baseless pre- 
tension. 

But surely we may claim and should claim to 
be Christians — servants of God and of the Lord 
Jesus Christ; and it would be wholesome for 
us to remember that this claim involves that 
of our saintship. It would be wholesome be- 
cause it would exert a restraining influence in 
the presence of temptation, and be a helpful 
incentive to a high and worthy life. Let us, 
then, freely recognize the fact, and strive deeply 
to feel it, that in some sense — it may be the 
very lowest that the Avord will bear, but still 
in a sense which is true and real — we are saints 
of God. 

I do not think that we are called upon to 
parade this fact before our fellow- men, for our 
'* saintliness '' would be exposed to serious ques- 
tion if we had to proclaim and advertise it in 
order for it to be known. Let it show itself 
in the life ; let it speak in the character ; let it 



248 PERFECTION. 

shine before men as a light kindled and fed by 
the Divine Spirit; a light whose calm and 
steady radiance, iindimmed by any fate or any 
fortune, so illuminates all that we do and all 
that we are, that others, seeing our good works, 
are led to glorify our Father who is in Heaven. 
In any ease, the consciousness that we have 
been lifted by infinite mercy to this high plane, 
and that God graciously regards us as his saints, 
will be a daily and divine call to us to walk 
worthy of the Lord unto all pleasing; while 
the fact that we so imperfectly fill the measure 
of true holiness, and so inadequately represent 
the true saintly character, will incite and urge 
us to the attainment of that which is higher and 
worthier. Thus the knowledge that we are 
saints in state and relation, will be an induce- 
ment and a stimulus to become saints in heart 
and life; the completed sanctification being at 
once the stepping-stone and the call to that 
which is to be evermore progressive. 

If I have not overestimated the importance 
of the position which I have herein attempted 
to commend to the reader, and which, I think, 
is undoubtedly scriptural, it will enable him to 



SANCTIFICATION. 249 

detect the fallacy in the argument which con- 
founds and commingles the double sense of the 
word sanctification, applying to the progressive 
(which is never perfectly realized) texts which 
appertain alone to that sanctification which is 
common to all Christians, without exception or 
discrimination. 

I trust also that it has been made sufficiently 
clear that this primary and general sanctifica- 
tion, while in itself a high honor and distinction, 
is not to be rested in as a finality, but is to be 
utilized in the attainment of still higher degrees. 
The very genius and spirit of the Christian re- 
ligion demand a constant improvement of the 
grace already bestowed, as the condition upon 
which we may receive new supplies, and in 
larger measures. There is no terminus ad quern 
for us in this world ; no stage at which we may 
sit down and say it is enough. There are 
always heights beyond heights, and blessings 
beyond blessings — blessings whose affluent full- 
ness would be too great for our present capacity, 
and which, therefore, await our approach to 
them, and our spiritual preparation to receive 
them. 



250 PERFECTION. 

The second part of my subject, that of pro- 
gressive sanctification, I hope to be enabled to 
present in the next succeeding chapter. 



CHAPTER XII. 

SANCTIFICATION PROGRESSIVE, 

There is no recorded example amoDg men of 
perfect holiness. The best and brightest of Old 
Testament worthies were not spotless; and those 
who lived and walked with the Saviour of men, 
and who drank deepest of his Spirit, never suc- 
ceeded in reproducing his sinless and glorious 
character. Whatever their attainments in grace 
and in goodness, they had still, even from their 
loftiest height of excellency, to look up with 
humble hearts and adoring praise to Him who, 
alike in the glory of his majesty and the shame 
of his humilation, was preeminently the Holy 
One. And it is deeply significant that one of 
these apostles of the Lord, and one, too, upon 
whose name there lingers the fragrance of the 
Saviour's tenderest love; nay, one who seems 
to have looked deepest into his divine nature, 
and to have come most intimately into his 
sacred fellowship — it is this one who tells us, 
" If we say that we have no sin, we deceive our- 
selves, and the truth is not in us" (I. John i. 8). 

251 



252 PERFECTION. 

In like manner the great apostle to the Gen- 
tiles, distinguished above all human kind by 
divine honors that were strictly exceptional; 
who had been visited and addressed by the 
glorified Lord in person ; who had been caught 
up to the third heaven, and introduced into 
paradise ; who had heard unspeakable words in 
that celestial world, and had received such an 
abundance of revelations that his humility be- 
fore God and men called for especial safeguards 
— even this man, so highly favored and so 
richly endowed, felt that there was something 
lacking to him and in him. He expresses this 
feeling by saying: "Not as though I had 
already attained, either were already perfect; 
but I follow after, if that I may apprehend that 
for which also I am apprehended of Christ 
Jesus'' (Phil. iii. 12). Not yet "perfects- 
something not yet "attained'' — still "following 
after," reaching forth, pressing onward ; still 
fighting, struggling, praying, hoping, waiting; 
still wrestling "against the principalities, against 
the powers, against the world-rulers of this 
darkness, against the spiritual hosts of wicked- 
ness in the heavenly places" (Eph. vi. 12). 



SANCTIFICATION PROGRESSIVE. 253 

Surely if this was true of him, there is no one 
who may claim to have gone farther, and to 
have attained more. The fact that God him- 
self is the standard and model of perfect holi- 
ness should teach us to be at once humble in 
our pretensions and most aspiring in our aims. 
We may never in this world be holy as he is 
holy, but it is something to be permitted and 
inspired to strive for it ; and even in the world 
to come, when we sit down with Abraham, 
Isaac and Jacob in the kingdom of heaven, and 
enter into eternal fellowship and fraternity with 
the spirits of just men made perfect, even there 
we shall take up the strain of the four living 
beings — representative of the whole creation — 
and looking up to him who is still infinitely 
above us, say: *^ Holy, holy, holy, Lord God 
Almighty " (Rev. iv. 8). 

There we shall indeed be free from sin, and 
beyond the reach of temptation ; and there our 
Lord, who has sanctified and cleansed us with 
the washing of water by the word, will present 
us to himself without spot or wrinkle or any 
such thing, redeemed and sanctified and glori- 
fied, but still with all eternity before us in which 



254 PERFECTION, 

to draw nearer and nearer to Him who alone is 
absolutely holy. 

I have been led without predesign into the 
contemplation of this celestial state; and now 
that it is before us, let it be to us an incitement 
and attraction. Our chief concern while we re- 
main here below is to "follow holiness, without 
which no man shall see God/^ And although 
we may not hope to reach here the ultimate 
stage of that relative holiness which is pos- 
sible to redeemed humanity, we may, by the 
help of the Holy Spirit, gradually approach 
unto it. And the pursuit itself, if faithfully 
and earnestly made, will cause us to be ac- 
ceptable to God through Jesus Christ our 
Lord. 

The subject in its practical aspects covers a 
large area — much too large for me to attempt 
to occupy it in one brief chapter. I may, how- 
ever, make a few suggestions, which I trust will 
not be wholly without value. 

In the first place, let me recommend as of 
supreme importance the cultivation of genuine 
sincerity and integrity of heart. Many of us 
have been so accustomed to reading and hearing 



SANCTIFICATION PROGRESSIVE. 255 

the exposure of that sham sincerity which as 
sumes to substitute itself for the truth of God, 
and to plead its existence as an excuse for neg- 
lecting the plain requirements of his word, that 
we are in danger of undervaluing that which is 
true and real, and which, as an element of Chris- 
tian character, and a condition of progress in 
holiness, is above all price. I have already 
spoken with disfavor of false pretensions to 
sanctity; a mock humility is equally contrary 
to the spirit of truth by which we are to be 
guided. In all our intercourse with our fellow- 
men, in our communion with God, in our secret- 
thoughts and purposes, let us assume to be 
nothing which we are not, and to speak nothing, 
either by tongue or act, but that which is true. 
How easy it is for the substantial goodness of 
character to be sapped and undermined by what 
is frequently a carelessly formed habit of insin- 
cerity! There is danger from this source. It 
is so much easier to seem to be than really to he. 
Hyprocisy is an ugly word ; but, alas ! the thing 
itself is much worse — it is a sin. ^' Beware of 
the leaven of the Pharisees." It is an influence 
whose hidden working gradually spreads itself 



256 PERFECTION. 

till it has corrupted and rendered false the 
whole nature. 

To thine own self be true ; 

And it must follow, as the night the day, 

Thou canst not then be false to any man. 

And, better still, thou canst not then be false 
to God. When integrity and genuine sincerity- 
reign within us and over us, we may come 
boldly to the throne of grace, for the Father 
seeketh such to worship him as worship in 
in spirit and in truth. 

And this brings me to mention the second 
condition of progress in sanctification, and per- 
haps the only one which calls at present for 
consideration. I allude to the daily practice of 
holding intercourse with God. It can hardly 
require to be formally stated, especially for any- 
intelligent Christian, that the only hope of re- 
producing in ourselves, in however small a 
measure, those qualities and characteristics of 
the Divine Being which constitute his holiness, 
is for us to bring them habitually before our 
minds. The contemplatioa of them as living 
and blessed realities and beauties in his person 
fills us with a longing desire to be made like 



SANCTIFICATION PROGRESSIVE, 257 

him. They cease to be to us merely empty 
abstractions, and present themselves as concrete 
harmonies, fascinating to the soul, and giving 
at once birth and exemplification to its highest 
ideals. And then we pray. The soul moves as 
it were from contemplation to desire, and from 
desire to earnest petition. And such prayer, so 
true to the inmost nature, so worshipful of its 
exalted Object, so worthy in its sacred subject, 
is not the expiration of empty breath, nor the 
heartless babbling of a cold formality; but it 
prevaileth much. It brings into the soul from 
an inexhaustible Fountain streams of refresh- 
ment which make it glad, with illuminations 
and influences which make it strong in the 
Lord and in the power of his might. And, no 
doubt, by the clearer vision of angeFs eyes, it is 
seen to come forth from every such interview 
with a halo of glory upon its head, and with the 
shinings of divinity in its face. )3y such prayer 
we are transformed and hallowed. "Lord, teach 
us how to pray.'' 

I fear that it may still be necessary to say in 
the conclusion of this subject, an I said in the 
beginning, that many persons — many Christians 



258 PERFECTION. 

— have ideas respecting santification wliicli make 
them feel that its possession in a world like this 
would be undesirable; that it would separate 
them from the common sympathies of their 
kind, and mark them as objects of derision or 
pity. But while this may be true of some fanat- 
ical simulation of the grace, or of some loud- 
mouthed claim by men whose conduct and 
reputation give it no support, it is not true of 
genuine scriptural sanctification. They are the 
loveliest of women, the most esteemed, honored 
and trusted of men — and loved and honored 
not simply by the Church, but by the world as 
well — who, without freak or phrenzy, without 
immodesty or vain boasting, show by the consist- 
ency of their conduct, the sweetness of their 
disposition, the simplicity and singleness of their 
hearts, and the straightforward, honest upright- 
ness and truth of their lives, and, above all, by 
their genuine and devoted love to God and men, 
that they minister and feast at an altar whereat 
formalists and ranters have no right to eat. 



CHAPTER XIII. 
PEACE. 

It may be noted as one of the paradoxes 

of the New Testament that it represents the 
co-existence in the same persons of war and 
peace. These are terms which in secular things 
are incongruous and mutually exclusive. If the 
state described by the one is present, that which 
is signified by the other is necessarily absent. 
But in the kingdom of Christ it is not so. Its 
subjects are at the same time and always en- 
gaged in vigorous warfare, and yet living in 
profound peace. Nor are these terms used in 
any accommodated or unusual sense. War 
means real war ; peace is true peace. And how- 
ever incompatible they may seem to be in 
their prima facie or surface presentation, we 
know that deep down in Christian experi- 
ence these two states, if they do not merge 
into one, become really harmonious. We 
have all been conscious, even when most ar- 
dently and resolutely fighting the good fight 
of faith, that God was keeping us in per- 



260 PERFECTION, 

feet peace, because our minds were stayed on 
him. 

I have had occasion frequently to allude to 
the Christian warfare, a subject which occupies 
much space in the apostolic Scriptures. They 
lead us constantly to think of the enemies with- 
out and within — the world, the flesh and the devil 
— and of the strife which must be continually 
maintained if we would at last overcome them. 
This we may look upon as one side of our life — 
the side upon which insidious foes approach us 
and formidable adversaries assail us. Now with 
wily cunning, and anon with marshalled force 
and dreadful daring they attack the very citadel 
of our faith, while with taunt and derision they 
say, ^' Where is thy God?" And how often, 
alas! have they made breaches in our strong- 
holds, or deluded us into opening our gates, 
and ourselves bringing in, with mad exultation, 
their Trojan horse, filled with deadliest ene- 
mies! What with pride and vanity and sloth, 
with worldly-mindedness and carnal security 
rising up within, and with the hosts of sin 
and Satan pressing upon us from without, we 
might well be appalled. If left to ourselves 



PEACE. 261 

the conflict could result only in disaster and 
defeat. 

But we are not thus left. " Ye are of God, 
little children, and have overcome them ; be- 
cause greater is he that is in you than he that 
is in the world" (I. John iv. 4). And it is this 
God side of us, if I may so express it; this 
assured conviction that God is, and that he is 
ever present with his help, and unfailing in his 
support, that gives us peace of mind and com- 
posure of soul even in the thickest of the fight. 
*' Though an host should encamp against me, 
my heart shall not fear; though war should 
rise up against me, in this will I be confident" 
(Psa. xxvii. 3). By the words "in this" refer- 
ence is doubtless mide to the first verse of the 
psalm: "The Lord is my light and my salva- 
tion; whom shall I fear? The Lord is the 
strength of my life; of whom shall I be afraid?" 
If we can exercise such faith as this ; if we are 
able to look away from the perils that environ 
us, to the Almighty Arm that defends us, and 
to feel sure that whatever help we may need in 
the evil day will come to us in good time and 
abundant measure, we can sing the song of trust 



262 PERFECTION, 

with the spirit and the understanding, and rest 

in peace. 

Though troubles assail and dangers affright, 
Though friends should all fail and foes all unite, 
Yet one thing secures us, whatever betide, 
The Scripture assures us, the Lord will provide. 

It is not only, however, in the extraordinary 
trials and fiercer conflicts of life that this grace 
is to be sought and prized ; we need it as a 
guard and resource in the daily round of com- 
mon experience. There is no hour so free from 
care, or so exempt from temptations and ills, 
that it will not be brightened and sweetened 
if we direct our thought and our faith to God, 
looking through what may seem to be a " frown- 
ing providence," to the ^^ smiling face" behind. 
The true conception of* scriptural peace is that 
of an ever-abiding serenity of soul, retained and 
cherished alike in sunshine and in storm, in 
sorrow and in joy, through good report and ill, 
amid all the vicissitudes and changes of this 
earthly existence, and even, if need be, 

Amidst the war of elements, 

The wreck of matter, and the crush of worlds. 

The esteem in which the Lord would have 

us hold this grace is repeatedly shown ; and a 



PEACE. 263 

few of his declarations respecting it may help us 
to a higher appreciation of its worth. " O that 
thou hadst hearkened to my commandments! 
Then had thy peace been as a river, and thy 
righteousness as the waves of the sea" (Isa. 
xlviii. 18). Peace as a river — that is, abun- 
dant, full, living, and never failing. And we 
notice that it was this blessing of peace above 
all others, and which indeed includes all others, 
that the very heart of God had been yearning 
to bestow upon the beloved ^^ house of Jacob." 
In like manner the Saviour of men, when he 
was about to return to his Father, and to leave 
his chosen apostles to struggle on in an un- 
friendly world — as in truth we all must do — 
a world which promised them only tribula- 
tions, persecutions and afflictions: a world 
whose sweetest smiles would be delusive, 
whose friendships would bring danger, and 
whose highest good was fraught with evil ; look- 
ing down this gloomy vista, and selecting from 
his boundless resources that which alone could 
prepare them for their trying future, and bear 
them safely through it, he imparted it to them, 
and left it with them. "Peace I leave with 



264 PERFECTION. 

you, my peace I give unto you; not as the 
world giveth, give I unto you. Let not your 
heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid '' (John 
xiv. 27). And now, if it must be so, " let the 
heathen rage, and the people imagine a vain 
thing"; nay, let the earth be removed, and the 
mountains be carried into the midst of the sea ; 
and let the waters thereof roar and be troubled, 
and the mountains shake with the swelling 
thereof; the rage of the nations is impotent, 
and the roaring of the seas gives no alarm. 
For deep down in the soul, far beyond any 
disturbance from earthly enmity or ill, there 
flows an eternal and gladdening river of peace. 
With such knowledge of its origin, and with 
daily experience of its comfort, it is no wonder 
that the apostles speak of it ia terms of highest 
appreciation. It is " from God our Father, and 
the Lord Jesus Christ '^ (Rom. i. 7) ; it is a 
"fruit of the Spirit" (Gal. v. 22); "the king- 
dom of God is righteousness, and peace, and joy 
in the Holy Spirit" (Rom. xiv. 17). To the 
Colossians the injunction is given : " Let the 
peace of God rule in your hearts, to which also 
ye were called in one body; and be ye thank- 



PEACE. 265 

fuP' (Col. iii. 15); while to the Philippians is 
given that infallible and all - comprehensive 
prescription for happiness: "In nothing be 
anxious ; but in everything by prayer and sup- 
plication with thanksgiving let your requests be 
made known unto God. And the peace of God, 
which passeth all understanding, shall guard 
your hearts and your thoughts in Christ Jesus" 
(Phil. iv. 6, 7). It is indeed incomprehensible 
even to him who experiences it. Like the 
gracious Spirit by whom it is imparted, its com- 
ing is attended by no convulsive shock nor 
startling sound. W^e may not observe its quiet 
approach, but as we rise from the fervent 
"prayer and supplication with thanksgiving," 
we find that somehow a divine calmness of soul, 
a sweet rest as from heaven, is present with us ; 
and this is God's peace. 

The attentive reader has doubtless noticed — 
and I trust without surprise — that in seeking 
in my humble way to aid him to the attainment 
of this grace, I have simply sought to lead him 
to its Source. It might be helpful to timid 
Christians for me to add that, inexpressibly 
precious as this peace is, its acquisition is not 



266 PERFECTION. 

difficult. True, it is wholly supernatural in its 
origin; it is a gift; we can not create it, nor 
work ourselves into it. But what blessing have 
we ever enjoyed that has not come down to us 
from the Father of lights? And he is waiting 
to bestow this one upon every child of his who 
will open the door of his heart to receive it. 
All of us, therefore, even the poorest and 
humblest, and however unworthy we may feel 
ourselves to be, live every day within reach, to 
say the least, of this heavenly boon. And we 
have but to stretch forth the hand of faith and 
of earnest prayer, for it to be ours. But let us 
remember that it lies not at the end of labor 
and toil and struggle. We do not come to it 
by that road. Nor is it to be gained by exciting 
and agitating ourselves with reference to it — 
not even by exciting and agitating prayer, as if 
Heaven must be stormed and God aroused in 
order to procure it ; but by " praying in the 
Holy Spirit" — the calm, trustful, reposeful 
prayer, that believes in God's love, and that lays 
the soul down upon his bosom that in him it 
may find rest. 



CHAPTER Xiy. 

DRAWING NEAR. 

The Epistle to the Hebrews exhibits the 
Christian religion not only in the strength of 
its great argument, but in picturesque beauty 
and attractiveness. It draws from the offices 
and institutions of the Old Testament illustra- 
tions of the New. It discloses to us the gradual 
unfolding of God's eternal purpose, a-nd makes 
known the object lessons by which men were 
educated to appreciate that purpose, and to enter 
into sympathy with it. After conducting us 
over the whole field of priestly consecration 
and ministration under the law, and explain- 
ing the prophetic announcement of a new and 
higher priestly order, whose type, in the person 
of Melchizedek, was antecedent and superior to 
the Aaronic priesthood, we are brought to see 
and to feel that the full realization of all these 
types and prophecies is found in Jesus Christ 
and the institutions which he has established. 
He, as our great High Priest, has made the 
one needed and only efficacious sacrifice; has 

267 



268 PERFECTION. 

ascended into heaven itself, the true holy place; 
and there, in an unchangeable priesthood after 
the order of Melchizedek, he ever lives to make 
intercession for us. 

And now, on the ground of this most stu- 
penduous fact, we are exhorted to draw near to 
the same holy place that we may obtain the 
blessings which are there provided and treas- 
ured up for us. The language, while stimu- 
lating to this high duty and privilege, is at the 
same time full of instruction. It reads : 

"Having therefore, brethren, boldness to 
enter into the holy place by the blood of Jesus, 
by the way which he hath dedicated for us, a 
new and living way, through the veil, that is 
to say, his flesh ; and having a great priest over 
the house of God ; let us draw near with a true 
heart in fullness of faith, having our heart 
sprinkled from an evil conscience, and our body 
washed with pure water: let us hold fast the 
confession of our hope, that it waver not; for 
he is faithful that promised: and let us con- 
sider one another to provoke unto love and 
good works; not forsaking the assembling of 
ourselves together, as the custom of some is. 



DRAWING NEAR. 2^9 

but exhorting one another; and so much the 
more, as ye see the day drawing nigh^' (Heb. 
X. 19-25). 

But although we are thus urged to '' draw 
near/' and are even told that we may do so 
with " boldness/' we are still reminded of the 
preparation necessary for appearing in such a 
place and in such a Presence. 

And first of all we are to come with a '^ true 
heart." If there is any one thing that should 
distinguish a Christian above everything else, 
it is perfect integrity and honesty — truth in the 
innermost part of his being — a perfect genuine- 
ness that is free from all sham and hollow pre- 
tense. 

Already I have had occasion to speak of this 
under a different heading, but I feel that it 
needs to be emphasized again and again. We 
may not only impose upon others by an empty 
profession and sort of make-believe Christianity, 
but the Scriptures warn us that we may de- 
ceive ourselves — that we may think ourselves 
to be something when we are nothing. And 
there are no words which should come home 
to the soul in a tone of deeper solemnity, or 



270 PERFECTION. 

with more awakening and even startling^power, 
than those which say to us, ^' Be not dtceived ! " 
Deceived, mark you — deceived in a matter of 
life and death. Those in this condition are not 
hypocrites, at least not consciously such. A 
hypocrite knows that his life is untrue and his 
profession false; but what must it be to think 
you are right when you are wrong, that you 
are safe when you are lost! 

But let no one feel discouraged. The fact 
that we are told not to be deceived, while it 
shows the danger, indicates at the same time 
that that danger may be avoided. And here 
as we come by the divine counsel to draw near 
to the very holiest place in all of God^s domin- 
ion, and to One who knows the secrets of all 
hearts and all lives, it is specially incumbent 
upon us to see that our hearts at least are true. 
We may be conscious of great infirmities; we 
may feel deep down in our souls that we have 
come far short of what we might have been and 
might have done ; we may know that in many 
things we have offended, and that we can only 
look unto the mercy of God for acceptance — 
still if we are truly and honestly conscious of 



DRAWING NEAR, 271 

all this, and do not simply pretend to feel and to 
believe it, we may enter into the holy place by 
the blood of Jesus, by the way which he dedi- 
cated for us, a new and living way, through 
the veil ; and may do this in that perfect faith 
which is called in the text " fullness of faith/' 

I presume that having " the heart sprinkled 
from an evil conscience and the body washed 
with pure water," is not an additional, but a 
preceding work. These clauses refer back to 
that original cleansing and sanctification which 
we received in becoming Christians, and being 
thus made "priests uato God." In other 
words, they refer to that great change in which 
our hearts were " purified by faith " ; and when 
we "put off the old man with his deeds," being 
"buried with Christ by baptism," and not only 
"buried with him," we were actually "baptized 
into him." 

It can not escape the attention of any that this 
preparation for drawing near is represented as 
most searchingly thorough and complete, em- 
bracing the whole man, his heart, his conscience, 
his body, and the very state and attitude of his 
soul ; and that to render such preparation pos- 



272 PERFECTION. 

sible it was preceded by the infinite love and 
wisdom of God, and by the amazing work ot 
Christ. But when we remember that it is an 
approach to the very holy of holies, the very 
fountain of love and throne of grace, and into 
His presence who is of purer eyes than to be- 
hold iniquity, who can detect every false way, 
and who will repudiate all empty lip service, 
it will be seen that such preparation is not only 
becoming, but necessary. 

And now supposing it to have been made, 
and I am sure that some, and I trust many, of 
my readers have made it, and that the '"'way 
into the holiest " lies open and manifest before 
them, in what spirit and frame of mind should 
they approach ? 

More than once the Scripture answers, with 
" boldness. " When we sustain to God the re- 
lation that entitles us to come to him; when 
our hearts are true and pure; when our con- 
sciences are clean ; when our life and walk are 
consistent with our profession, and when our 
desires, affections and aspirations are such as 
God approves, the whole ocean of his love is 
accessible to us, and we may enter his presence 



DRAWING NEAR. 273 

not with presumptuous daring, certainly, but 
with all freedom of speech (which is the mean- 
ing here of boldness), and in the confidence of 
undoubting and unwavering faith. 

I shall be pardoned, I trust, for recommend- 
ing those to whom this exalted privilege has 
been accorded, to learn, as soon as possible, and 
to embrace the truth that what we really need, 
and all that we need, is God himself. We 
know not what to pray for as we ought. Often 
the things most earnestly desired would be hurt- 
ful to us. And yet, little children that we are, 
short-sighted and ignorant, we can but long and 
pray for what seems to us to be good. Nor is 
such prayer to be suppressed. We are taught 
that in everything we are by prayer and suppli- 
cation to make our requests known unto God, 
though of course always in subordination to his 
will, and with hearty recognition of his supe- 
rior wisdom. Such prayers, whether specially 
granted or not, have always this blessing in 
them : that they bring us before God, and draw 
us nearer to him. But these prayers, though 
they manifest a degree of faith, and sometimes 
even a high degree, indicate at the same time 



274 PERFECTION. 

the absence of the very highest. Perfect trust 
in God's wisdom and care and love, an un- 
qualified confidence in his gracious and abiding 
presence and sleepless oversight, would cause us 
to wait on him in worshipful adoration, rather 
than with the Psalmist to be crying, "Make 
haste to help us/' And I am sure that when 
we draw very near, when we really enter y even 
here and now, into the holy place, and come 
into full communion with the Father and with 
his Son, Jesus Christ, we shall be able in large 
measure to anticipate "that day" in which, as 
our Lord says, " Ye shall ask me nothing." 
This is the very acme of faith — when the trust 
in his goodness and wisdom, and power and 
love, is so assured and steady that nothing is 
desired or prayed for but that his will be done. 
We may not reach this exalted spiritual state 
here, but we may make it our goal and object, 
and may more and more approach unto it, draw- 
ing daily nearer and nearer, and so entering 
more and more into " the fullness of the bless- 
ing of the gospel of Christ." 

God is the Father of our spirits. We have 
been separated from him by sin, which has 



DRAWING NEAR. 275 

caused all our unrest and misery. What we 
need, all that we need, is to get back into per- 
fect communion and fellowship with him; and 
this is what is contemplated in all the redeem- 
ing work of Christ, and the sanctifying influ- 
ences of his Spirit. "When we come to see and 
to realize this ; when all temporal and transitory 
things become as nothing in comparison with 
this one thing, our only thought and feeling 
will be to say, like David: ^^As the hart 
panteth after the water brooks, so panteth my 
soul after thee, O God. My soul thirsteth for 
God, for the living God: when shall I come 
and appear before God?" 



CHAPTER XV. 

BEHOLD THE PERFECT MAN. 

In briDging to a close what I have deemed it 
necessary to say on Christian Progress, I desire 
to speak a few words, which I trust may be 
strengthening and comforting respecting the 
last great change here below, and the final des- 
tiny above. 

Christians frequently misinterpret the feelings 
which arise in them at the prospect of death. 
As we are at present constituted we are made 
to live in this world. We are bound to it by 
numerous ties of friendship and affection. For 
many long years it has been our home. All 
the sweet memories of childhood and early life 
are connected with it, as are also the struggles 
and trials and sorrows of maturer years. It is 
here that we have planned and worked and 
hoped, and here that we are still planning and 
working and hoping. We are at all times 
mixed up with present business, present oares, 
present responsibilities — matters and things 
which are in process, which have not yet been 

276 



BEHOLD THE PERFECT MAN. 277 

worked out. All these things seem to give us 
the pledge and promise of a future here, not a 
distant one, but still one that for the time at 
least is assured and certain. We count upon 
it; we lay our plans with reference to it; and 
while we may recognize in a general way the 
uncertainty of life, and may even say from the 
heart, as taught by the Scriptures, " If the Lord 
will, we shall live, and do this or that" — we 
still think that we shall live. All this is nat- 
ural and right. If it were otherwise with us 
we should not be fitted for the duties which 
God has made incumbent upon us. But it is 
this which causes the prospect of death to pre- 
sent itself as a sort of shock — as something that 
would be unwelcome and even dreadful. But 
it should be understood that this feeling with 
which we contemplate it is not the fear of death, 
or of any consequence growing out of it; it is 
simply the God-ordained clinging to this life 
until it shall please him to loose the ties which 
bind us to it. 

And when this time really comes — when the 
heavenly Father calls for us — it will be a 
Father's call, and we shall feel and know that 



278 PERFECTION. 

he is but saying to us, " Come up higher/^ 
We have been accustomed to associate the idea 
of death with the river Jordan which separated 
the children of Israel from the land of promise ; 
and it is almost with a shudder of apprehension 
that we think of entering the rolling flood of its 
deep, dark, cold waters — all alone ! But blessed 
be God, we do not enter them. Our Great 
Priest, with the ark of the covenant, has passed 
in before us, and the waters have '^ stood up 
upon an heap,^' so that, like the Israelites, we 
may pass over on dry ground. The fears and 
alarms, so naturally anticipated, are not realized. 
We finish our course with joy ; and we enter 
the realm of death with thanksgiving to Him 
who giveth us the victory through our Lord 
Jesus Christ. 

No, it is not dreadful to die. And however 
our earthly nature may shrink back from it, I 
feel sure that He who has given us grace to live 
will, when we come to need it, give us grace to 
die. He will support us with the cordials of 
his love; he will comfort us with the blessed 
word: "Be not afraid; lo, I am with you;'* 
and thus gently, tenderly and lovingly he will 



BEHOLD THE PERFECT MAN. 279 

lull us to sleep upon his bosom ; and the great, 
solemn, mysterious pilgrimage of life will be 
over. 

To most of us it has been a long and weari- 
some journey. The pathway has often led 
through danger and difficulty, and we have had 
many a hard-fought battle. We have passed 
through trials and toils and tears; but out of 
them all the Lord has delivered us, and through 
them all he has brought us safely to the end. 
And now we leave behind us our carnal nature; 
we come out of our earthly house ; and the real 
true individual self, for whose perfection and 
glorification we have been subjected to the dis- 
cipline of life, departs in the blessed freedom of 
a spiritual body, without the burden of flesh 
and blood, and without the trammels of tempt- 
ation or sin. By the powerful attraction of 
mutual love and likeness of nature it is drawn 
and borne into the society of just men made 
perfect, and into closer fellowship with Him 
who lives and reigns over all, God blessed for- 
ever. 

It would not be seemly for us with our carnal 
eyes to try to peer curiously into the secrets of 



280 PERFECTION. 

this spiritual state and condition. If it had 
been proper for us to know them, they had 
doubtless been fully revealed. As it is, we 
have only glimpses here and there of a life and 
a home of whose nature we can but faintly con- 
ceive. Enough, however, is told us to animate 
our hope, and to furnish cheer and support 
while waiting to be called. 

Among the things thus certified to us, the 
reality of the future state is by no means the 
least important. It is never once spoken of 
in the New Testament in any problematical or 
doubtful terms. While the wisest men of the 
world, its deepest thinkers and soberest rea- 
soners speculated about it, and at best deemed 
it probable that such an existence might be, 
Christ testified of it ; declared what he had seen 
and known in the heavens ; spoke of the angels 
that lived there ; of his Father's house and its 
many mansions; and always as a matter of cer- 
tain knowledge, never as an inference from 
observed phenomena, or a conclusion drawn 
from any logical premises. The existence of 
that blessed state was an assured and certain 
fact. " We speak that we do know, and bear 



BEHOLD THE PERFECT MAN. 28I4 

witness of that we have seen/' In the same 
tone of perfect assurance the inspired apostles 
uniformly allude to it. We can not read their 
recorded words without feeling that to their 
minds the future state was just as real as the 
present. They seemed to live and move and 
think and feel in the very light of it. How- 
ever men may seek to account for it, it is at 
any rate a fact as remarkable as it is beyond 
question that somehow there had come into the 
minds and hearts of these chosen men a con- 
viction respecting the world above and the life 
after death, which held them to be as undoubted 
and real as the world and the life below. As 
we read the plain and honest records of these 
holy men we feel that they but reflect the glories 
of overshining heavens ; and the gospel of life 
everlasting which they preached — the gospel 
for whose success they lived, and for whose 
maintenance they died — seems to derive its 
charm and its efficacy from powers coming in 
from above. So well assured were they of all 
this ; so present and certain was it to their con- 
sciousness; so deep and strong and clear were 
their convictions of it, that the very intensity 



282 PERFECTION. 

with which they realized it has made it real to 
all succeeding generations. 

In the next place it is obvious to remark that 
for all the children of God this state is depicted 
as one of unalloyed happiness. They rest from 
their labors. Their tears are wiped away. Sor- 
row and crying are unknown. Sin with its 
polluting touch, and temptation with its peril- 
ous power, are warded off, aud nothing that 
defiles or that loveth a lie can gain acress to 
them. And not only so ; not only are they 
freed from all evil and saved from all danger, 
but they are positively and fully blessed. They 
sing the song of Moses and the Lamb, and re- 
joice with joy unspeakable and full of glory. 

The fact, too, that it is a life in which the 
very highest intelligences take delight, is evi- 
dence conclusive that its employments and 
activities are such as can give pleasure and 
satisfaction to personalities so exalted in wis- 
dom and so abundant in knowledge. It is not, 
therefore, a life which is passed in a mere round 
of monotonous ecstasy, nor yet in the idleness 
of dreamy inactivity, but such a life as the great 
mind and heart of Paul would love to lead; 



BEHOLD THE PERFECT MAN, 283 

such a life as Luther and Wesley and Alexander 
Campbell would find congenial to their sancti- 
fied tastes and noblest powers; a life truer, 
loftier, more glorious and blessed than human 
heart has ever conceived; a life, therefore, 
worthy of all sacrifices and all perseverance to 
attain. 

And finally, when it is attained, we begin for 
the first time to realize the profundity and 
immensity of that perfection in Christ Jesus 
towards which we have been going on. And 
let me hope that with renewed zeal and more 
determined purpose we will continue to ^^ press 
on toward the goal unto the prize of the high 
calling of God in Christ Jesus." 

The end shall crown the work — 

Ah, who shall tell the end ? 

It is a woesome way, and clouds portend. 
The work is all we know; 

Enough for our faint sight, 
The end God knows — press on — 

The ceown is light! 



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